Hunters and the Hunted
by SilverDewDrop
Summary: Kuri just wanted to get away from everything. All the running. She just wanted to stop being hunted. It was pure chance that she met Gon. Three years later, she is given a new chance. She can take the Hunter Exam and start over. And maybe, just maybe, make some new friends on the way.
1. New Life, New Chapter

Hunter x Hunter: New Life, New Chapter

 **This is my first fic ever. I'm sorry if it's crappy, but I'm learning. Cursing will be included. Feel free to criticize and flames will just be turned against you. Now, on to Chapter one.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Hunter x Hunter. It belongs to Yoshihiro Togashi. I only own OC's**

* * *

 _'I can't let them catch me.'_ That was the one thing on her mind as she ran through the forest. _'Gotta run. I've got to escape.'_ Kuri continued to run, ignoring her tired legs. Her surroundings were a blur. All she concentrated on was the thudding of footsteps behind her.

A sudden movement to her right. Kuri moved just in time to see an arrow whiz past her ear. ' _They've got archers.' S_ he ducked under a low branch. A bullet hit it and severed it cleanly off, showering Kuri with wood.

 _'Gun men too.'_

 ** _'This is bad, you idiot! You need to step up your game!'_** A voice protested. Kuri's not crazy, that voice is because of Nen. A friend's Hatsu, to be exact. But Kuri doesn't know that. To her, it's 'magic.' Just like it would be to most nine year-olds.

 _'Sorry Jen, I'm tired. You try running for a week without rest and see how you do,'_ Kuri replied, annoyed.

 **'Don't you dare go sassy on me! Watch your ton- TREE!'**

 _'What?'_

 **'Tree! You're about to run into a tree!'**

Kuri came back into the real world just in time to register pain.

 _'Ow! What was that hard thing I just hit?'_

 **'That 'hard thing' is called a tree, moron.'**

Kuri winced and rubbed her head. _'Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, o-'_

 **'I GET IT! Jeez. You're in pain and** **it's all your fault.'**

 _'My fault? Who was the one yelling at me and distracting me?'_

 **'You should have been more aware of your surroundings.'**

Kuri glared at nothing and stuck her tongue out. ' _I'm only nine! What do you expect?'_

 **'You should be better. Unstoppable.'**

 _'Well, sorry that I'm not Superwoman.'_

 **'You should be.'**

Kuri just rolled her eyes before she noticed something. ' _Hey, do you hear anything?'_

 **'No, I don't hear anything.'**

"Exactly. Where did the footsteps go?" Kuri muttered. Jen's eyes widened.

"Very good observation, Ms. Muto." A voice came from the shadows. Kuri stiffened.

 _'Crap, crap, crap. This is bad.'_

 **'Who is it?'**

 _'You don't recognize the voice? It's-'_

"Please allow me to introduce myself. I am-"

"Belith Bela Amarande." Kuri said curtly.

"Why yes, I am honored that you know me, Ms. Muto." The man stepped out of the shadows. Kuri cringed in disgust as she took in the man's appearance. He had long greasy black hair and smug eyes. His face might have been handsome with sharp features and an angular jaw, if it wasn't tainted by the sly smile on his face. Otherwise, he was dressed in fancy clothes. Silk suit, leather shoes, gold jewelry.

"Who doesn't? You're a slick creature. I would say a wolf in sheep's clothing, but that would be offensive to wolves. A heartless monster that kills just for the thrill of it. You've only been captured once, and when you were, the next day, you decapitated your captor and made a run for it," Kuri explained blankly. Belith mock applauded. "That was a very nice story of my life. Now, shall I get to know yours? I like to get to know my victims before I kill them." He smiled sinisterly. Kuri raised an eyebrow.

"Why? Do you actually feel guilt for those that you kill and are trying to keep their memory alive?"

"Oh no, I don't need to know their life stories to do that. The sound of their last tortured screams begging me to let them live is enough." Belith let out a moan of pleasure. Kuri backed away and her eye twitched in disgust. ' _Great. Another psycho.'_

"And your fate will be no different than the rest!" He brought her out of her musing with that statement and she leaped to the right to avoid him as he charged forward. ' _You know, my first impression of him was a sly fox. Now, it's more like an enraged bull.'_

 **'Kuri. Quit insulting the animals.'** Said girl laughed sheepishly and rubbed the back of her head.

"You're right. Sorry bulls! Sorry foxes!"

Belith stopped charging and looked at her in confusion and disgust.

 _'He thinks I'm crazy.'_

 **'You just noticed? Kuri, you've always been crazy. But use the fact that he has the wrong idea about you as an advantage against him.'**

 _'...Good idea.'_

Kuri smiled. It wasn't a normal innocent nine-year-old smile. It was the smile of a girl who knew she was crazy and accepted it. Belith smirked. As if that would fool him. He knew it was an act.

Kuri continued advancing toward him. He started sweating. Still an act...

The distance between them decreased by another few feet. Belith blanched and started backing away. Kuri followed. For every step he took back, she went one step closer. All the while having that mad smile on her face. She had the glint of insanity in her eyes and a sharp stick in her hand. Belith started backing away faster.

"S-stay away!" He shouted. Kuri just kept moving forward. With a terrified shriek, Belith fled and didn't look back.

Kuri shrugged and stopped with the act. You could just see the pink aura surrounding her and flowers popping out.

 **'D-damn! Y-you should've seen his face!'** Jen choked out, laughing. Kuri shrugged.

 _'Of course I did. I was the one who caused it, after all. And stop cursing.'_

Kuri yawned and looked around. Looks like the soldiers were long gone, she just didn't notice.

 _'Hey Jen.'_

 **'Yeah?'**

 _'Any nearby villages?'_

 **'Let me check… Sort of. There's a house. You're at some place called Whale Island. Small, remote place. The house is inhabited by Gon Freecss, his aunt, Mito, and his grandmother.'**

 _'Interesting. Which way?'_

 **'You're not thinking of actually going there, right?'**

 _'Do you even know me? When I ask for directions to somewhere, it's because I want to go there.'_

 **'Fine. It's about a yard to your right.'** Kuri blinked. Did she hear that right?

Kuri slowly turned her head to her right, and sure enough, there was a house with a… tree growing out of it?

Kuri sighed in relief. Finally. Civilization. It had been a while since she had seen **_normal, civilized_** people.

 _'Maybe if I'm lucky, I can get some food and water. Maybe a place to stay for the night.'_ Kuri yawned. You could just see Jen rolling her eyes.

Kuri started going to the house with a… tree growing out of it. Or maybe it was just built around the tree. Yeah, that's more reasonable. She walked up the hill and up to the door.

Kuri took a deep breath and steadied herself. She knocked.

* * *

A tired woman with short orange hair opened the door.

 _'That's probably Mito Freecss.'_

Mito glared at the space above Kuri's head. "Gon, do-" She started yelling, but stopped as she saw the bruised and battered little girl. Her eyes slightly softened as she saw the state she was in.

"Do you know what time it is, honey?" She asked gently.

Kuri shook her head. Then she saw the dark sky. The moon was up.

 _'Oh. Oops.'_ She thought sheepishly.

Kuri shook her head. She really didn't know what time it was.

"It's midnight. What are you doing here?"

"I was being chased and stumbled upon your house. I just want some shelter for the night," Kuri answered honestly. Mito didn't seem completely convinced.

 _'Come on... Please let the Puppy Dog eyes work.'_ Mito finally sighed and opened the door wider.

She smiled and let the girl in. "Come in. You must be freezing."

Kuri nodded and stepped inside.

 _'Wow. What a warm cozy place.'_

 **'Mmhmm.'**

It had a small dining table with a few chairs around it and there was an opening on the right that led to the kitchen. Stairs were on the other side of the room and spiraled up to somewhere and right next to the stairs was a door that led to what seemed to be the living room.

 _'Where's the tree?'_

"Take a seat, I'll be back with something hot," Mito-san said as she walked out of the room. Kuri hesitantly walked forward as if there might be hidden traps. She carefully pulled out a chair and felt the cushion to see if there were spikes, poison coating, etc.

The door slammed open. "I'm back, Mito-san!" Kuri stiffened and ran behind the chair she was examining.

Mito-san came out of the kitchen with her hands on her hips and a spatula in hand.

 _ **"Gon Freecss! Do you have any idea how late it is! You had Grandma and I worried! And be quiet, we have a guest! You can't just-"**_

"Uh, Mito-san, I think you're scaring her..." Gon said as he looked around the ranting woman.

Kuri was huddled under the table with her hands on her ears, shaking.

 **'Jeez. Overkill, much?'**

 _'Well, we have to make it believable.'_

Mito-san looked and gasped. "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to scare you." She started walking towards the still shaking Kuri until she was almost knocked over by a green blur.

"Are you alright? Sorry about Mito-san, she didn't mean to scare you. She scares everyone, even grandma!"

 _Bonk, bonk, bonk!_ Gon was suddenly on the floor clutching his head.

Mito-san was behind him letting out a murderous aura and holding up the spatula threateningly. "What did you say?" She asked in a sickeningly sweet tone.

"N-n-nothing!" Gon yelped as he ran behind Kuri.

Kuri stopped shaking in fear and started shaking from laughter.

 **'Kuri! You broke character!'**

 _'Oh well.'_

Mito-san and Gon looked at her before smiling at each other and joining in on the laughter as well.

A few minutes later, all three of them were sitting at the table eating toast and drinking tea, except for Kuri who asked for water. They were bombarding Kuri with questions.

"Fo Hyuri, ow bib byu bet bere?" Gon asked, munching on his piece of toast.

Kuri gave him an amused look. "Boat."

" **Gon!** Don't talk with your mouth full, it's rude." Mito-san scolded.

"Fowy, Mipho-fan."

"How old are you?" This time it was Mito-san.

"Nine."

"Wow, we're almost the same age! I'm ten!" Gon said excitedly. Mito-san rolled her eyes.

"When's your birthday?" She asked.

"February 6th." Mito-san looked at the calendar.

"That's in a week!" Kuri looked as well. Yup. Exactly one week.

 _'Wow. I've survived six years of that hell. Six years of running from those stupid money obsessed hunters. Though, I would have been dead by now if Jen hadn't helped.'_

 **'Damn straight!'**

 _'Jen, stop cursing.'_

 **'Who died and made you God? I'm older, therefore I get to make the rules. Haven't you heard of 'respect your elders?''**

 _'You sure you're older? You're definitely not acting like it. And I'm pretty sure that people have died today. Respect your elders? You're definitely an elder, I'll give you that, but no one would respect an elder who's cussing like the world's ending.'_

 **'Says the one acting like a goddamn grandma!'**

 _'If I'm a grandparent, you would be an ancestor, seeing as you're older than me.'_

 **'Why you little-'**

"Kuri?" Gon interrupted Jen's rant.

Kuri blinked. "Yes?"

Gon was looking at her with a worried look on his face.

"Are you okay?"

 **'Mentally? Or physically?'**

 _'Shut up, Jen.'_

It was then that Kuri noticed how close they were. Kuri raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah. Why not?"

"You've been spaced out for the past five minutes."

Kuri sweatdropped.

"Errr... Yeah..."

 **'Very convincing, Kuri.'**

 _'Would you like me to say, 'Oh, I'm just having a mental conversation with my friend who has magical powers. Yeah, I'm perfectly fine.''_

 **'That works. Try it.'**

 _'... You serious?'_

 **'Yeah. Do it! I dare you.'**

"Kuri?" Kuri snapped back to reality when Gon called again.

 _'Well, here goes nothing.'_

"I'mhavingamentalconversationwithmyfriendwhohasmagicalpowers!" Kuri blurted out.

Gon looked confused. "You're talking to a pile of poop that has magical towers?"

Kuri burst out laughing. "Yeah. A pile of poop that has magical towers. So true."

"Really?"

"No."

"Aww..."

Kuri took a deep breath to steady herself.

"I'm having a mental conversation with my friend who has magical powers."

Gon brightened up. "Cool!"

Kuri looked at Gon like he was an idiot. _'Who in the world would actually take that seriously?'_

 **'The guy who believed that you were talking with magical shit.'**

 _'Jen. Stop cussing.'_

 _ **'Bleh!'**_

"Are you doing it now too?"

Gon interrupted once again. "Yup. Her name's Jen."

"Cool! Hi Jen!"

 **'Hi.'**

"Jen says 'hi.'" Gon's eyes sparkled. He went off blabbing about random subjects to Kuri about Jen.

"How old is she? Where is she? What does she look like? Why isn't she here? How did you meet? What does she act like? Where is she from? How is she? Is she nice? Does she curse? W-"

" **Stop**. _Please._ " Kuri was rubbing her temples. Her head was reeling from the rapid interrogation.

 **'This kid's a real blabber mouth, isn't he?'**

 _'As much as I hate to admit it, yeah. But overall, he's not bad.'_

 **'...Yeah...'**

"Can you tell me?" Gon gave Kuri the puppy dog look. Kuri's eyebrow twitched.

 _'Must resist. Must resist the cuteness.'_

 **'Give it up. The stupid kid's impossible to deny. He's just like you. Plus... I don't really mind.'** Kuri raised an eyebrow.

 _'Is Gon actually melting your ice heart?'_

 **'No! The damn kid's a walking piece of sunshine! It's impossible to say no!'**

 _'If you say so~'_

 **'Grr...'** Kuri snickered.

"What are you laughing about?" Gon asked innocently.

"Err…" Kuri looked away.

 _'So, can I tell him, or what?'_

 **'...Fine.'**

Kuri looked back at Gon. "Jen's thirteen, she's at her house, she has black hair and purple eyes, she's home because the mission was too dangerous for her, and we met when I was supposed to kill her. She has a rotten attitude, she's from... I don't know... she's fine, no, and yes, quite often."

"Uwah! Is she pretty?"

 **'Of course I am!'** Kuri stifled a laugh.

"Well, she says she is, but I'm not so sure…"

 **'Damn you, Kuri...'** Kuri blinked when she realized something.

 _'Why couldn't you just use your magic to talk to Gon instead of having me talk between you two?'_

 **'...'**

' _You forgot, didn't you?'_

 **'... No! Of course I didn't! I... just wanted to make you work! Yeah, that's it!'** Kuri sweatdropped.

 _'Well, then do it now!'_

 **'Okay, okay! ...And... Done! Can you hear me, Gon?'**

'Uwah! There's a voice in my head! Is that you, Jen?'

 **'Of course it is, you-'**

 _'Jen, don't taint the boy's mind like you did to me.'_

 **'You can't tell me what to do!'** Kuri sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.

'This is so cool! Are you here too, Kuri-chan?'

 _'Yup!'_

'Kuri-chan!' Something hit Kuri.

 _'Wait...Chan?'_

'Un! Kuri-chan!'

 **'Hahahaha! He got you real good, Kuri! Hahahaha!'**

 _'Just Kuri. No 'chan.''_

'Okay, Kuri-chan!'

 _'...He's not listening...'_

'It really is magic!'

 **'Uh...Yeah...'**

 _'Yup!'_

"So, Kuri-chan."

 _'I give up...'_

"Yeah?"

"Where's your family?" Kuri froze. She looked away and pushed down the oncoming tears.

"...Mom died giving birth to me and _Dad_ abandoned me when I was seven. Who knows where he is now..."

 **'And who cares about that asshole? He's a son of a gun and that's that.'** Kuri smiled. Jen never failed to cheer her up.

"Wah! That's so sad!" Gon tackled the younger girl and hugged her. Shocked by the sudden hug, Kuri just sat there, not moving. She patted the boy's back awkwardly. They stayed like that until Kuri felt something crack and the need for air.

"G-Gon! N-need _air!_ " Gon hastily backed away.

"Sorry, Kuri-chan!" Kuri sat up and rubbed her back.

 _'Ow! I'm going to me a hunchback from now on...'_

'I'm so sorry!'

 _'Oh yeah, forgot that Gon can hear me now...'_

'Hey Kuri-chan, would you like to stay with me and Mito-san?' Kuri froze and looked at Gon.

"Really? You would do that?" Gon nodded his head so fast that Kuri thought it would fly off.

 _'Like a bird. I wonder if it would sprout wings...'_

 **'That's just morbid, Kuri...and off topic...'** Kuri ignored the second part of that sentence.

 _'No it's not! It's just a flying head! ...Wait... maybe that **is** a bit morbid...'_

 **'No, of course not!'**

 _'Really? You're the one who said it was morbid. Now you're contradicting yourself.'_

 **'Kuri. I was being sarcastic.'**

 _'Oh... Really? Hehe...'_ Kuri imagined that Jen probably rolled her eyes.

 _'Did you disable Gon's magic thingie?'_

 **'Yeah** _ **.**_ **'** Kuri started paying attention to Gon again. He seemed to be almost finished with his rant.

"Yeah! Of course! I'm sure Mito-san would love to have you!" Kuri grinned and this time it was Kuri who tackled Gon to the floor.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!" Gon chuckled.

"You're welcome, Kuri-chan."

Mito-san came in the room, yawning.

"What's all this yelling I hear? You're going to wake up Gran-"

"Mito-san! Can Kuri please stay?" Gon pleaded as he ran in front of her. Mito-san only blinked and rubbed her eyes tiredly.

"Of cour-" Gon cheered.

"Yatta! Kuri-chan can stay!" He ran to Kuri and twirled her around. Kuri yelped and just closed her eyes, praying that Gon wouldn't let go.

Mito-san rushed over. "Gon, stop! You're going to make her dizzy!" Gon immediately stopped. He let Kuri down and she fell to the floor, eyes swirling.

"Hehe. Sorry, Kuri chan..." Kuri waved it off... or at least tried to.

"I...it's...al...right..." She got up and shook her head. "Okay! I'm good!" Kuri gave a cheesy smile and a thumbs up. Gon and Mito-san sweatdropped.

"Wow, Kuri-chan! You recover quickly! Like me!" Mito-san sighed and started leaving.

"Where are you going, Mito-san?"

"I'm going to prepare Kuri's room!" She called down the stairs.

"Okay!"

"Thank you for letting me stay, Mito-san!"

"No problem! You two better sleep after this! Children need their sleep to grow..." She yawned.

Gon and Kuri exchanged looks, quietly laughing. Gon grinned and held his hand out for a pinky promise.

"Friends?" Kuri pretended to think for a while.

"Hmm... nah." Gon's face fell. Kuri just laughed and smiled.

"Just kidding! Definitely!" Kuri wrapped her pinky around Gon's.

"Now, let's seal it with a kiss!" Kuri looked at him in bewilderment.

"What?"

"Like this!" He pressed their thumbs together.

"Oh." Kuri let out a silent sigh of relief.

 **'For a second, I thought he meant something else...'** Kuri nodded in agreement.

'What did you think I meant?'

 ** _'Ah!'_**

 _'Gon! You surprised us!'_

'What did you think I meant?'

 **'...That's not important right now...'**

'But I want to know!'

 **'Too bad.'**

 _'Give it up, Gon. She'll never tell.'_

'Please...'

 **'No.'**

'Aww...'

* * *

 **Okay... so I'm combining some chapters because, one) I feel like they're too short and two) I'm running out of ideas, so this gives me something to do**


	2. New Friends Or New Enemies?

**Hi guys! I hope you like this update!**

Three years later...

"Kuri, get back here!" Kuri laughed as she sprinted down the stairs. Over the years, Kuri has become hyper, even more so than Gon and she's gotten into pranks. She was still laughing when she sat at the table where Gon and his Grandmother were already sitting.

Gon looked at Kuri curiously. "Kuri-chan, what did you do this time?" Kuri just smiled innocently.

"What makes you think I did anything?" She asked, snickering.

"KURI! IF YOU DON'T GET BACK HERE RIGHT NOW, I WILL..." Crashing was heard.

 _'She probably tripped...'_ Kuri and Gon sweatdropped as Mito-san came running down the stairs. She was breathing heavily and she was bright red. At least her face was. Her face was red, yet the rest of her body was pure white.

"Good morning Mito-san! How are you! Please, sit down and have breakfast with us." Kuri smiled and gestured to a vacant chair. Mito-san's eye started twitching.

"Why you little..." She was grumbling profanities as she stormed her way to the table.

"What did Kuri-chan do?" Gon asked innocently.

"She put flour all over the bed and when I woke up, I was covered in white!" Gon just sighed, having been used to similar things for the past two years.

Grandma chuckled and sipped her tea.

"Mom! This isn't funny," Mito-san complained, exasperated.

Kuri just sat there quietly, scooping egg into her mouth to hide her smirk. Mito-san turned to her.

"And _you!_ I don't know where you learned all these things, but stop doing them on me! Do them on Gon instead!" Kuri stopped with her fork full of eggs halfway to her mouth.

"Well, that's new," she said dryly, hearing Gon's protests in the background. She thought for a second.

"Wha? Mito-san!"

"Alright!" Kuri agreed cheerfully. To her, it didn't really matter either way, as long as she had a person to prank.

"Eh? But Kuri-chan!"

 **'Are you sure you'll be able to do this? He's too innocent and cute...'**

 _'I can try.'_ Kuri shrugged.

 **'And fail.'**

 _'What? You don't know that!'_

 **'Just** ** _look_** **at him!'** Kuri did. Gon was looking at her pitifully.

"Nuh-uh! Not gonna work, Gon!" Kuri said flatly. You get immune to it after two years of dealing with it.

 _'I looked at him.'_

* * *

"And to seal it with a kiss!" Gon was promising Mito-san that he would come back. Kuri was right behind him, having already given her hug and promise as well. How did this happen? Well, let's rewind a bit.

 _A few months before..._

After breakfast, after Mito-san had washed up all the flour and Kuri cleaned up, Gon had dropped the bomb on them. He was going to take the Hunter exam! Mito-san had protested, of course, and Kuri? She just froze up. She wouldn't respond.

 _'Gon's leaving? What? How? Please don't go! What did I do wrong? Don't leave me! I'm sorry! Take me with you... Please don't abandon me...'_

 **'Kuri? Kuri! Calm down. Listen.'**

 _'No... Don't go... Stay...'_

 **'Will you just-'**

"And I'm taking Kuri-chan with me." Kuri looked up from her knees. Gon was looking at them with fierce determination.

"WHAT? Gon! Don't drag Kuri into this! She might not want to go!" Mito-san exploded.

"I can't just leave her here alone! It would be like someone's abandoning her again!" Kuri's eyes widened.

 _'Is Gon a mind reader?'_

 **'He might have just seen your rocking and assumed.'**

 _'No way. Gon's an idiot. A sweet idiot, but an idiot.'_

 **'You're right, but Gon's not that much of an idiot.'**

 _'Do you have any proof?'_

 **'Uh... There was this one time, no, he was still wrong... Or maybe, no...'**

 _'See?'_

 **'Yeah...'** Jen admitted reluctantly.

"Kuri-chan, what do you think?" Gon was looking at her with concerned eyes.

"Yeah! I'll go! Can't let you have all the fun," Kuri joked.

Gon smiled in relief. "See? Kuri-chan wants to go!"

Mito-san sighed. "Fine, but you have to...'

* * *

 _Now..._

And here they were. Gon caught the King of the Swamp, won the right to take the Hunter Exam, blah, blah, blah. Kuri on the other hand, had a fairly easier job. She just had to cook a meal for everyone. A meal of their choice. Everyone, meaning the entire town. It sure took them a while, but they did it.

"We're off, Mito-san!" Gon waved and Kuri jumped high in the air.

"BYE EVERYONE!" Gon and the others sweatdropped, but replied.

"Bye!" Kuri grinned and ran up the hill.

"Ah! Wait, Kuri-chan!" Gon ran after her.

"Bye Mito-san! Bye Grandma!" With that last farewell, they were off.

"Down to the town we go!" Kuri chirped as she skipped along the path. Gon chuckled.

"Wow, Kuri-chan! You're really excited."

"Yup! For a second I thought you were abandoning me and going alone!"

"I actually considered that." Kuri stopped cold. "But, then I figured you would kill me so I took it back." Kuri smiled and started skipping again.

 _'We're off to see the Wizard! The wonderful Wizard of Oz!'_

 **'Kuri?'**

 _'Hmm?'_

 **'What the hell is going on inside that head of yours?'**

 _'Nothing!'_

"By the way, Kuri."

"Hm?"

"How old are you?"

"Eleven." Gon thought for a moment.

"Oh... you're going to have to lie and say you're twelve."

"What? Why?"

"Because the you have to twelve to take the hunter exam."

"Oh..."

"..."

"I'm only eleven for... another month! So soon I won't have to lie! Cause right in the middle, it'll be my birthday!" Gon's face dropped.

"Oh..." Kuri tilted her head at him.

"Why do you look so sad?" Gon had dark clouds hanging over his head.

"Because we won't be able to celebrate your birthday..." Kuri rolled her eyes.

"Relax. We can celebrate it after the Hunter Exam." Gon visibly brightened up.

"You're right! Let's go!" Kuri facepalmed.

 _'Well he got over that quickly...'_

 ** _'Don't forget, Gon's a simple minded kid.'_**

 _'True.'_

"Kuri-chan! Hurry up or I'll leave you behind!" Kuri panicked.

"Wait! Wait for meeeeeeeee!"

* * *

Kuri grinned and looked around. It had only been a hour since she and Gon had got on the ship, but she had already lost him. She jumped onto a crate and looked around.

 _'It's so fun to be somewhere new!'_

 **'Yeah...but honestly, calm down...'**

 _'Hey, what's over there? And what about that dark thing over there?'_

 **'Kuri... You're going to get hurt...'**

 _'Ooh! There's a sharp pointy thing over there!'_

 **'Kuri...'**

 _'Bye Jen!'_

 **'Wai-'**

Kuri continued exploring the ship.

 _'Crate, crate, crate, ooh; light!'_

She went towards it and found herself in a room with seasick participants. There was a sailor at the front with a clipboard. His eyes widened at the sound of her.

"There's another one? Oh well, must have gotten lost. What's your name?" Kuri gave a bright and happy smile.

"Kuri!"

"Well, then Kuri, please go see the Captain."

"Okay!" Kuri skipped through the halls of the swaying ship.

 _'Captain's room, Captain's room... Oh, there it is!'_ She burst into the room.

"Hi! Sorry I'm late!" In there, was a pretty blond person, a middle aged man, and...

"Gon!" Gon looked at her in surprise.

"Kuri-chan! Where were you? I couldn't find you." Kuri rubbed the back of her head sheepishly.

"I went exploring. Did you know there were thirteen hidden entrances on this ship, five crates full of rotten apples, and one room full of weapons?" Kuri asked cheerfully.

The Captain looked at her in amazement. "How did you know that, lassie? I own this ship and even I don't know that." Kuri just shrugged.

"I went exploring." Was all she offered. The captain looked at her suspiciously while the others sweatdropped.

"You made it just in time, lassie! Now we can begin. Now first off, what are your names?"

"Gon Freecss!"

"Kuri!"

"Kurapika."

"Leorio."

The captain cleared his throat. "Why do you want to become Hunters?"

"So, why do you wanna become hunters?" Leorio frowned.

"You're not an Examiner so we have no obligation to tell you anything." Kurapika cut in.

"Leorio's right. It would be easy to offer up a plausible lie-" Kuri tuned him out after that. He was going on and on about telling the truth or something. It was obvious that he is smart, but Kuri didn't care about that. She was more interested on examining him. Long lashes, big, brown eyes, soft hair, and a... painting? No... it didn't have any colorful pictures.

 **'I believe that's called a tabard.'**

 _'Quiet Jen! I'm thinking!'_

Kuri hit her fist in her palm. "Oh, it's called a tabard." Leorio and Kurapika stopped arguing and looked at her curiously.

 **'I just said that...'** Kuri ignored her. Gon blinked.

"What is?"

"That painting that he's wearing!" Kuri pointed at Kurapika.

Kurapika looked offended. "P-painting?"

"It's not very colorful, but it's a painting! Or a 'tabard.'" Leorio burst out laughing. The Captain cleared his throat.

"I guess we have two more dropouts; maybe three, depending on your answer, lassie." Kuri looked at him.

"I don't want to become a Hunter." Kurapika and Leorio looked shellshocked.

"Then why are you here, lassie?" The Captain raised an eyebrow.

She pointed at Gon. "I'm just following him. If I become a Hunter, great, if not, oh well." She shrugged.

Leorio burst out in anger. "Then why are you here? Just go crying to your mommy and daddy just like the little girl you are! Save the Hunter's license for someone who needs it!" Kuri's eyes glinted in anger and flashed red for a moment. In the blink of an eye, Leorio was pinned to the wall by knives and Kuri was pointing a katana that came out of nowhere at him.

"Don't you **ever** mention my parents **again!"** She huffed and sheathed her katana. She placed it on her hip and left the room, slamming the door shut behind her.

 _'Is she a Kurta?'_ Kurapika thought, remembering her eyes.

"Hey, Gon. Is she a Kurta?"

Gon looked at Kurapika. "She isn't a Kurta, her eyes just change color, depending on her emotions. I guess she could be a really, really distant relative, but red stands for anger." Kurapika nodded in understanding.

"Red stands for anger? So there are other colors?" Gon nodded. He suddenly turned into a chibi and pulled out chalkboard out of nowhere. He cleared his throat.

"Ahem. Kuri-chan's eye color is usually brown. Brown stands for normal, on guard. If she's really relaxed and really likes you, her eyes will turn green. Red, as you just saw, stands for anger, and blue is the one you really don't want to get. I've only seen it once and that was when Kuri-chan saw someone wipe-out an entire village. Pink is for in pain, whether it's a lot or very little. There's also yellow, which stands for annoyance. There's a lot, but those are all I know."

Kurapika felt disappointment fill him, but something else as well... relief? Why? It was probably that he was glad he wasn't related to someone crazy like her. Gon turned back to normal.

Gon looked after Kuri worriedly. "I hope she'll be alright." He went to Leorio and started helping him get free.

"Thanks kid," Leorio said as Gon took out the last knife. Kurapika picked one up.

"These are incredibly light and strong. They were obviously crafted by a master. Who made these?" Gon smiled.

"That would be Kuri-chan! She would always be playing with them and get scolded by Mito-san." Kurapika and Leorio exchanged looks.

"Who's Mito-san?"

"My aunt!" Leorio frowned.

"How did a brat like _her_ , craft _these_?" Gon shrugged.

"I don't really know much about her... we met three years ago, but she's never really said anything about her past life."

"Why did she get so mad about her parents? Did something happen?" Gon shook his head.

"That's Kuri-chan's story to tell. It's must be very personal." They heard a scream.

"Gon, help!" Gon perked up.

"That's Kuri-chan!" He ran out of the room, Kurapika and Leorio following. They went out to the deck, where they saw Kuri clinging to the railing for dear life as she held onto something that was submerged in water.

Gon gasped and rushed over. "Kuri-chan!" He grabbed onto one of her hands and pulled. Kurapika and Leorio also helped and with all three of them, they pulled Kuri and Katsuo (Katzo?) out.

Kuri fell to her knees and started coughing up salt water. She looked over to Katsuo.

"You alright?" He nodded and stood up.

"Thank you for saving my life!" He bowed really low.

 _'I wonder how his head didn't smash against the floor...'_

Leorio bashfully rubbed the back of his head. "Nah, it was nothing..."

Kurapika smiled and nodded. "It was nothing."

Kuri just grinned and gave a thumbs up. "No prob!"

"You're welcome!" Gon just shook Katsuo's hand.

Leorio sighed and looked at Kuri. "I-I'm... sorry... I didn't mean what I said, I let anger get the best of me..."

Kuri grinned. "You're forgiven! I'm sorry that I pinned you to the wall as well!" He let out a nervous laugh.

"Apology accepted."

"I owe you an apology as well, Kurapika-" Kuri looked at the sea.

"Land! Land ho!" She shouted excitedly.

* * *

"Ooh! Look at that! What's that? Hey, I wonder what that is!" Kuri was bounding from stall to stall, waiting as for Gon to finish talking with the Captain.

"Kuri-chan! I'm back!" Kuri looked up from the frog legs she was examining and waved

"Hey, Gon! Look at these panda-frogs-on-a-stick! They're actually not pandas!" Everyone, but Gon sighed and sweatdropped.

"Uwah, really?" He started running over there, when Leorio grabbed him by the collar of his green shirt. He started dragging Gon off.

"Eh? But I wanna see!" Kurapika looked to see if anyone was looking and dragged Kuri off in the same direction as well.

"What? No! I wanna keep exploring!" Kurapika just ignored her and kept dragging her to wherever they were going. Kurapika finally stopped in front of a map.

Kuri went off and started sulking. She kept mumbling, "No one loves me..." while drawing on the ground with a random stick.

"Kuri-chan! We're leaving!" Kuri's head snapped back up so fast, that it was amazing she didn't get whiplash.

"Owww..." She ran towards Gon and Kurapika who were walking off. Leorio was going another way.

"Oi, Kuri! do you wanna come with me?" Leorio called.

"Nah, I'll stick with Gon!" She continued running and jumped on said boy's back. He turned around.

"Kuri-chan! Eh? Where did she go?"

"She's behind you, Gon." Kurapika pointed in Kuri's direction. Kuri stuck her tongue out.

"It's rude to point!"

"Eh? Kuri-chan?" Gon turned around. "I don't see her!" Kuri grinned. She took somethings out from her pocket. It was a hockey mask and a black cloak.

 _'How do those even fit in there?'_ Kurapika wondered. Kuri turned and winked. She put her finger on her lips and gestured to Gon. Kurapika's eyes widened in surprise and his cheeks turned pink. Kuri put on the hockey mask and cloak. She tapped Gon on the shoulder.

"Is that you Kuri-ch-AAHH!" He took out his fishing rod and whacked Kuri on the head

 _'Ow!'_

 **'That's what you get for trying to scare the poor boy.'** Kuri didn't reply. She smirked behind the mask and reached inside her cloak. She started pulling something out, until a hand reached over and took off Kuri's mask.

"Eh? Kuri-chan, that was mean!" Kuri was frozen. She looked at the culprit. Kurapika was smirking and holding the mask in one hand.

"Kurapika, you party-pooper!" He just rolled his eyes and shook his finger at her.

"Don't go randomly scaring people, Kuri." Kuri just huffed and looked away.

"Where were you, Kuri-chan?" She opened her mouth to reply, but _someone_ beat her to it.

"She was on your back until you started looking for her. Then she reached into her pocket and took out her mask and cloak to scare you," Kurapika explained. Kuri's eyebrow twitched and she smacked Kurapika on the head.

"Don't go giving away all my secrets."

"How do those even fit in there?" Kurapika asked, rubbing his head. Kuri smiled and put her finger on her lips.

"Himitsu~"

He opened his mouth to respond, when a voice suddenly called out. "Hey guys! Did ya miss me?"

"Nope," Kuri replied bluntly. Leorio anime fell.

"We would have been better off without you," Kurapika agreed. Leorio fell again. He turned to Gon.

"What about you Gon? Did _you_ miss me?"

"Eh..." Kuri hit Leorio on the head.

"Don't pressurize poor Gon!"

"Says the one who scared him," Kurapika mumbled. Kuri hit him on the head too. She tilted her head to the side.

 _'Someone's following.'_

 **'You just noticed? He's been following you from the dock! Your skills have gotten damn rusty.'**

 _'I noticed, but he's really noisy. You really need to quit that cursing habit of yours...'_

 **'Can't disagree with the noisy part. I don't want to quit my cursing. It's useful when you're mad.'**

 _'I wonder if he's an elephant. I mean, he's practically stomping and he's snickering so loudly that the whole country could probably hear him. Plus, he's tripped on like every rock on the path and cursed every time he fell.'_

 **'That's kinda exaggerating...'**

"Ow! Damn it!"

 **'...I see your point.'** Kuri smirked to herself.

 _'Should I set some traps to throw him off?'_

 **'No... Just see what he does. If he attacks, don't hesitate to kill him.'**

 _'Roger that.'_

Kuri came back to meet two worried faces and one curious one.

"Hey, guys..."

"What happened? You suddenly stopped and wouldn't respond."

"It could be trauma. Was there a traumatic event that happened when you were younger?"

Kuri looked at him and burst out laughing. "No! My friend can do magic. We were talking with each other." Leorio frowned and placed his hand on her forehead.

"You don't seem to have a fever, did you hit your head somewhere?" Kuri rolled her eyes.

 _'Jen, show them.'_

 **'You sure? You must trust them a lot to reveal this to them.'**

 _'I do. So do it...'_ Jen grumbled.

 **'Can you hear me?'**

Leorio and Kurapika gasped. Kurapika looked for signs that it was a trick that Kuri was playing, but she was one hundred percent serious.

"Wha-What's happening?" Leorio yelped as he clutched his head. "Personality disorder? Am I going crazy? Dementia?" He kept mumbling disorders and illnesses to himself, even the ones that were very unlikely.

"Leorio, calm down. This is real. You are not going crazy, I hear it too." Kurapika crouched next to Leorio, trying to assure him.

On the other hand, 'Hi Jen! How are you? It's been a while since we spoke, ne?' Gon was talking away and Jen was very uncharacteristically listening.

 **'Fine. And yeah.'** Kurapika and Leorio looked at Gon, dumbfounded.

 _'Wow, Gon! You're a miracle! You can get her to respond like a normal person! And without cursing!'_

 **'Shut up, Kuri.'**

"G-Gon, you know her?" Gon nodded.

"Un! We met when I met Kuri-chan!"

"So she does exist?"

 **'Don't talk about me like I'm not there! Of course I damn exist!'**

"Sorry..."

 _'Jen. Language.'_

 **'English, Kuri. I'm speaking a language called English.'**

 _'I would hope you know that. Now, you have a very big vocabulary in English. Cut out the curse words and you're perfect!'_

 **'I'm perfect either way, Kuri.'**

 _'Really? Doesn't seem like that to me... And remember Gon.'_

'What about me, Kuri-chan?'

 **'I am gonna kill you and hide your body, you little...'** The rest was incoherent. Kurapika just blinked. Leorio had stopped mumbling, but continued looking at Kuri and Gon like they were crazy. Kuri hid her smirk. The stalker was probably thinking that they had a few screws loose.

* * *

They soon reached a village that was seemingly abandoned. It even had tumble weeds... tumbling across the path. They went in deeper.

Leorio looked around. "Are you sure that this is the right place?" Kuri shrugged.

"Do you see any other place that'll lead us to the cedar tree?"

"No..."

"Then there you have it. This is the right place." Kurapika and Gon sweatdropped.

"Kuri-chan, that's not very good reasoning."

"Do you have a better one?"

"Doki, doki." They looked ahead to see an old woman with masked people surrounding her.

 _'I wonder what's under that mask...'_

 **'Do you wanna find out?'**

 _'That's why I said, 'I wonder.''_

 **'Then go ask.'**

 _'Okay!'_

"Doki, doki."

"Doki, doki?" Leorio repeated what the old woman said nervously.

"Doki, doki."

"Doki, doki." Kuri looked at Leorio.

"Leorio. Did you suddenly become a parrot?" He scowled back at her.

"Exciting Two-Choice Quiz!"

"Huh?"

"To reach the cedar tree, you must first pass this quiz." Kuri blinked.

"Okay..."

"What?! No way! Let's go, you guys. I'm not doing this." Leorio fumed.

"If you don't participate, you will be disqualified from taking the Exam."

"What?!" The old woman ignored Leorio.

"You will be given one question and five seconds to answer. You have two possible answers. If you say anything but those two answers, you will be disqualified."

"Wait. So if they get the question wrong, I fail too?" Leorio pointed to Kuri in particular.

"Why are you pointing at me? It's rude to point, you know."

"What would _you_ know about being polite, you brat!" Kurapika rolled his eyes.

"If anything, it'll be the other way around."

"Why you..."

"Hurry up! Or else I'm going to answer the question first." The stalker came out.

"Ah, so the stalking cheater finally shows himself." The stalker fumed.

"Che. The name's Matthew. Remember it. You'll eat those words, little girl, when you find out that I passed the Exam and you didn't."

"Not possible. I'll be the one passing." Kurapika intervened.

"Enough. We don't have time for this." He nodded to the stalk-... Matthew.

"You may go first."

"What?! But Kura-Mmph!" Kuri covered Leorio's mouth.

"Quiet, you're going to make everyone deaf."

"If we let him go first, we will get an idea of what the question is like," Kurapika reasoned. Leorio fumed behind Kuri's hand.

"An evil villain has abducted your mother and lover. Who will you save? Choose one for your mother and two for your lover."

"What?! That's not even a question!" Leorio yelled, wrenching himself away from Kuri. The st-... Matthew hit the button immediately.

"I choose one."

"And why is that?"

"You can have many lovers, but you can only have one mother."

"Oh yeah? What if your father remarries?" Kuri retorted bitterly. The others looked at her curiously.

"You only have one _true_ mother."

"True as in the one who gave birth to you, or the one who actually treated you like her daughter? And if you ' _truly'_ love your lover, hence the title 'lover', you will most likely never love anyone the same way again. You can't just give out love to anyone and decide that you suddenly love this person." Matthew looked irritated. The others looked on in interest. Kuri was strangely dark and serious.

"Whatever! You're not an Examiner so I don't have any obligation to answer you!" He looked at the old woman. She nodded.

"You may pass." Matthew smirked.

"What?! How? That's not an answer!"

"See ya later, losers." Kuri walked until she was right in front of the old woman.

"So he didn't get it right?" Kuri asked. She was talking softly so Gon and the others wouldn't hear them. The old woman looked at Kuri sharply.

"He was allowed to pass, but you never said correct." The old woman suddenly cackled.

"You're a sharp one, girlie! Don't share your knowledge. It can be your downfall." Kuri nodded and stepped back.

"Now. Your son and daughter have been kidnapped, but you can only save on of them. Choose one for your daughter and two for your son." Leorio glared at the old woman.

"What kind of question is that? There is no right answer!" Kurapika stiffened.

"Leorio-"

"No sharing answers. If you say anything but the answer, you're disqualified." Kurapika clenched his fists in frustration. Leorio kept mumbling things to himself and walked over to where there were a bunch of wooden sticks propped up.

"Five." Leorio picked up the stick.

"Four." He started walking towards the old woman.

"Three." Still walking.

"Two." He stopped.

"One. Time's up." Leorio charged at the old woman. Kurapika was there, blocking the attack.

"Move, Kurapika! I'm gonna teach this old woman a lesson!"

"Stop, Leorio! You'll waste our correct response!" He stopped.

"Correct response?"

"Yes. You couldn't say anything but the choices, one or two, so you don't answer. Silence is the correct answer."

"But she let that other guy pass!"

"She never said he was correct. Didn't you hear his screams? He was quite loud." Kuri yawned.

"Oh. Sorry, old woman!" Leorio rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"Don't be. I do this to meet guys like you. They are right. The correct path is over here." Two of the masked villagers opened two doors.

"Walk through the tunnel for two hours and you'll find yourselves at a straight path. It will lead you to the cedar tree."

"Thanks, old woman! Gon! Let's go!" Gon was still on the ground. He fell back.

"Ah! I can't think of an answer!" Leorio chuckled.

"The quiz is over."

"But what if the same situation did happen to us?" Leorio and Kurapika froze. Kuri just shrugged.

"We'll have to see when it does happen. If you're not satisfied, think while we walk." They started leaving. Kuri suddenly stopped. "Wait! I forgot! I need to ask something! Gon, wanna come with?"

"Sure!" They headed back to the old woman.

"Obaa-san! What's under those masks?" The old lady smiled. She motioned for the closest one to come to her. She took off his mask and under there was a... normal face. Kuri pouted in disappointment.

 _'I was hoping for something more interesting, like nothingness.'_

 **'Would you have liked to see that?'**

 _'Yeah...'_

Kuri looked at the mask. "Can I touch the mask?" The old lady passed it to her.

"Ooh! Me too!" Gon came over. They reached out and touched the mask. Kuri's eyes widened.

 _'It's so FLUFFY!'_

It wasn't as hard as it looked. It was like weaved fur and a cloud combined.

"Guys! We're leaving!" Kuri quickly bowed.

"Thank you!"

"Bye!"

 **Thanks for favoriting and following! it's better than just not doing anything... Tell me what you think! Btw, can anyone guess the movie reference in here? It's fairly obvious.**


	3. New Journeys!

**Hi! How are you guys? Thank you for taking your time to read my story. If it bores you so much that you couldn't even make it to this point, then I apologize to those bored readers who didn't get to read this... Even if you can't see this apology.**

* * *

"'Walk two hours,' she said? It was 'two hours' two hours ago!" Leorio complained loudly. Then he stopped. "Another Magical Beasts warning sign? We will never get to the Exam site!" Kuri rolled her eyes. Leorio looked up to the sky. "I'm hungry! I need to take a dump! I gotta take a leak too!" Leorio wouldn't stop complaining.

"So do it behind a tree. No one will see." Kuri grinned and kept walking.

"What?! No way!" Leorio looked offended.

"Calm down. I have something for you." Leorio looked at Kuri suspiciously.

"Oh, no you don't! Remember that last thing you gave me? It was a piece of gum that you stuck in my mouth! It glued my lips together, so I couldn't talk for an hour!" Kuri shrugged.

"That was one hour of relief." Kurapika came to the rescue again.

"I see it! It's right there." Kurapika pointed at a small cabin. Kuri looked up. Her ears perked.

 _'What's that sound? It sounds like a conversation... Like what Jen and I would do when we were discussing our plan to prank Mito-san...'_

 **'It does. Can you make out the words?'**

 _'I'll try.'_ Kuri concentrated.

 _''So, here's...plan... We'll have... act... trouble... and then... judge... reactions...''_

 **'Wow. That's much more than I got. I got... 'Plan, trouble, and reactions.''**

 _'That's the gist.'_

 **'Damn! That's not fair! I should have heard more, since you haven't practiced in years, since... And on top of that, YOU'RE HALF DEAF! HOW IS THIS FAIR?'**

"Kuri?" Kuri came back. She looked up to see Kurapika.

"We're going towards the house." Kuri nodded.

"Okay." She followed him. They caught up to Gon and Leorio, who were about to open the door.

When they opened it, they were shocked. The house was destroyed on the inside and looked like a tornado blew through. There was a yellow furry thing with long antennas sticking out of its head and it was holding a woman. The woman had tattoos all over her face and had pink hair. There was a wounded man with blue hair lying facedown on the floor.

"That's a Transforming Magical Beast, the Kiriko! It's an extremely intelligent creature. They can take human form!" Kurapika explained. Kuri sweatdropped.

 _'I can't believe he's giving a lecture now, of all times.'_

 **'Well, at least he did his damn homework! You just came up with pranks!'**

 _'You helped, Jen. And pranks are also using strategy skills.'_

 **'Asshole.'**

 _'Stop.'_

"There's a woman in his arms!"

"The man on the floor needs medical attention!" Kuri blinked.

 _'Way to state the obvious, boys. Wait... Can take human form... intelligent creatures... plan... act... trouble! This is all an act!'_

 **'You just realized that? Duh, stupid.'**

 _'I'm not stupid, meanie!'_

 **'It takes one to know one.'**

 _'Did you just indirectly call yourself stupid? And you admit that you are mean...'_

 **'... Shut up!'**

The Kiriko jumped out the window, shattering it, with the woman in his arms.

"P-please!" They turned to the 'wounded man' on the floor.

"Save my wife!"

"Leorio! We leave the injured man to you!" Gon and Kurapika followed the Kiriko.

"Kuri!"

"Yeah?"

"Get me some wood and pieces of cloth! We need to patch up his wound!" Kuri looked at the 'wounded husband'.

"But why?"

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN 'WHY?!' HE'S INJURED!"

"No, he's not. Smell the air for a minute." Leorio blinked, shocked. He took in a few deep breaths.

"I don't smell anything."

"Exactly. If he's as wounded as he looks, the air would be filled with the smell of blood. There is no such smell." The man and Leorio looked at her in shock.

"Yes." He lunged at Kuri. She reached for her katana, but Leorio was already there.

"I can't believe that I was fooled!"

"I can." Leorio glared at Kuri.

"Jerk."

* * *

A few minutes later, the Kiriko suddenly stopped.

"The Test is over. Follow me." They followed him until they reached a clearing where Gon and Kurapika, along with the other two Kirikos were waiting.

"Allow us to introduce ourselves. We are the Navigators." The pink haired woman raised her hand.

"I'm their daughter!" The blue haired man did the same.

"I'm their son!" Leorio raised his arms in a shrug.

"Man, you had us fooled."

"Not me!"

"H-how did you know?" Leorio turned a suspicious eye to her. Kuri grinned.

"I also overheard the conversation. They planned to act like two of them were in trouble with the other two attacking and they were going to judge our reactions." The Kirikos smirked.

"Correct. The Hunter Exam site changes every year," The daughter explained.

"It's quite difficult to locate it."

"That was the Father."

"So we Navigators help by taking the applicants to the site."

"That was the Mother." Kuri pointed out who was who to Kurapika and Leorio.

"Oh, so that's how it works!"

"That was Gon." Leorio gave Kuri an irritated look.

"We know that much. We're not that stupid."

"I know Kurapika isn't, but I have my doubts about you, Leorio." Said man fumed.

"I am going to-"

"But we don't help every applicant."

"That was the daughter." Leorio shook his fist at her.

"Damn you!" Kuri shook her head disapprovingly at Leorio.

"Tsk, tsk. Watch your language." Leorio turned away.

"We test applicants to see-" Kuri tuned them out.

 _'I wonder where the Exam site is...'_

 **'That's why the Navigators are here, baka!'**

 _'I know, but what if you got into the Hunter Exam by accident? Like if you went into a restaurant and ordered something, not knowing that it was a password.'_

 **What are the chances of that happening?'**

 _'Very slim, but still possible.'_

"And you, Kuri-dono."

"Huh?"

"Your inhuman senses make you worthy to take the Exam. Therefore, you pass." Kuri blinked.

"Inhuman senses?"

"Your enhanced hearing and sense of smell." Kuri looked at the Kiriko.

"... What enhanced hearing? I'm half deaf." Everyone looked at her in shock.

"WHAT?"

"You are half deaf, but you can still hear that well?"

"What? I used to be able to hear a lot better."

"What happened?" Kurapika asked. Kuri showed them her right ear. It was smaller than usual and the earlobe was split.

"I don't know." They looked at her curiously.

"I woke up one day like this. It's a micro-ear. Surgery could help it get better, but... I can't afford it. On the other hand, you were right about my enhanced sense of smell! I lost some of my hearing, but my sense of smell got way better!" Gon chuckled.

"It's true! Kuri-chan could be out in the woods playing with the animals and still come just in time for dinner, already knowing what it is." Leorio glared.

"No fair!"

"Life's not fair." Kurapika sighed at their usual bantering.

* * *

"Kuri-chan! We're here!" Kuri blearily opened her eyes. She had fallen asleep during the ride to the Exam site. She yawned and rubbed her eyes. Gon dragged to where Kurapika and Leorio were standing. They were in front of a tall, intimidating building.

"Is this it?" Kurapika and Leorio nodded.

"Uwah! It's so tall!" Kuri just yawned. Leorio turned to her.

"What? No cheeky comments?" Kuri didn't respond. He looked at her. Kuri was swaying and refused to open her eyes.

"You sure you're awake?" Leorio stifled a chuckle.

"Hnnnnnn..." Leorio smirked. Now seemed like a good time to get her back for all the times she's made fun of him and embarrassed him.

He took a deep breath and shouted, "WAKE UP! WE'RE HERE!" Kuri's hair was blown back by the sheer force of Leorio's screen. She finally opened her eyes.

"No need to shout. I'm right here." She flicked Leorio on the forehead. "And quiet. There are people here." Said people were avoiding looking at Leorio and mothers were covering children's eyes. He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"Hehe..." Kuri rolled her eyes, now fully awake. Gon, Kurapika and the Navigator were watching with sweatdrops. Kuri looked at the building doubtfully.

"Are you sure this is it?" Kurapika nodded. The Navigator looked at them.

"Hey guys! It's over here!" He pointed to a restaurant. Their jaws dropped.

"This isn't funny." Leorio narrowed his eyes. "That's the Exam site?" Leorio was gaping at the tiny restaurant. The Navigator nodded. "Isn't that a normal restaurant? You can't possibly mean that Hunter applicants from all over the world gather here." Kuri bounded over there.

"It does seem a lot more reasonable..." Leorio looked at the eleven-year-old.

"What? How?" Kuri shrugged.

"Think about it. It would be a little too obvious if that was the Hunter Exam site." She looked to the tall building. "The restaurant seems more unlikely. It's hiding in plain view."

The Navigator nodded. "No one would ever suspect that the Hunter exam with it's millions of candidates are located here." Leorio agreed reluctantly.

"That's true..." They went inside. Immediately, the smell of meat hit them. Kuri's eyes sparkled.

"Mmm! That smells so good!" She looked at the Navigator with puppy eyes. "Can we _please_ get something to eat?" The Navigator took one look at her and sighed.

"Alright." Kuri cheered.

"Yatta!" The Navigator looked to the chef.

"Is the back room open?" The chef stopped stirring and looked at him.

"What will you have?"

"The steak combo that opens your eyes to the light. For four." The Navigator held up four fingers. The chef narrowed his eyes.

"For four... How would you like them?" The Navigator smirked.

"Grilled over a low flame until cooked." Kuri looked at him pleadingly. He sighed.

"And four tempura combos to go." Kuri squealed and clapped her hands. The navigator just shook his head. The chef went back to stirring.

"Got it. Let yourself into the back room." the Navigator started walking. They followed. He stopped in front of a door.

"Wait here." Without waiting for a reply, he dashed off. He came back a minute later with four sacks. He gave them each a bag. "Here." He opened the door.

"Here you go." Kuri grinned and immediately sat down at the table. "One in every ten thousand." Kuri paused and looked at the Navigator. "The number of applicants who make it this far. You've done extremely well for first timers." Kuri got up.

The Navigator bowed his head. "Good luck." Kuri smiled and hugged him. "Thank you~" He seemed surprised, but hesitantly hugged her back. She let go and waved. "Bye~" Gon also followed with his handshake and thank you as well. Kuri sat down again after the Navigator left and continued opening her bag.

"Wow!" There was tempura, rice, and sushi. With the rice on one side and sushi on the other side. The tempura was neatly stacked in the middle. Kuri clasped her hands together in prayer. "Itadakimasu!" She didn't move, though. She stayed in that position with her eyes closed and hands together.

Leorio leaned towards Gon. "What's she doing?" Gon smiled.

"Kuri-chan's praying." Leorio blinked.

"Is she Christian?" Gon nodded.

"She does this everyday before meals and before she goes to sleep." Leorio raised an eyebrow.

"Who woulda thought that brat was Christian?" Kuri opened her eyes and looked at him. She stuck her tongue out.

"Takes one to know one!" Leorio growled. Kurapika sighed and sat down next to Kuri. Gon followed.

The room rumbled and began moving. _'It must be an elevator.'_

 **'No, it must be a turtle. Of course it's an elevator, stupid.'**

"What! There's no chairs left for me!" Kuri smirked.

"Just sit on the floor." She began eating. Her eyes widened. "Sugoi! This is great!" Kurapika looked at her curiously and took a bite. His eyebrow went up. It was like a burst of flavors in his mouth. The rice was light and fluffy. The tempura was perfectly crispy and cooked and the sushi was indescribable.

"I wonder if it was made by a Gourmet Hunter," Kurapika commented.

 **'Damn. I want some.'** Jen sighed.

 _'I'll make you something when I get back.'_

 **'You better.'**

Kuri continued eating and soon finished in a record of five minutes. "I wonder when we'll actually get there..." She mused. She got up to let Leorio sit in her place. Soon, the others finished as well.

"It's been ten minutes." Kurapika frowned as the elevator kept moving. "A rookie passes once every three years. I wonder if we'll make it."

"Who knows? The worst case is that we end up dead. The best case is that we pass and become great Hunters." Kuri grinned and looked at the wall. Kurapika shook his head at her bluntness.

Kuri tilted her head and jumped on the wall. As soon as she landed, she used her momentum to push to the other wall. She just kept going from wall to wall so fast that it made Gon dizzy. He fell to the with his eyes swirling.

Kuri just closed her eyes and relaxed as she felt the air rushing past her. "But of course, my friend!" Kuri was so startled that she dropped from the wall she was on.

"Hunters make the most money in this world!" Leorio stood up. Kuri rubbed her head and got up.

"No!" Kurapika also stood up and slammed his hands on the table. Kuri and Gon looked between the two.

"Hunters are the most noble in this world!" Kurapika argued.

"Glory hog!"

"Money grubber!" Kuri and Gon sweatdropped.

 _'I never thought that mature Kurapika would be the type to call people names.'_

 **'That's what you would think,'** Jen agreed.

"Gon! Listen..." Leorio went to Gon. "Every year, over fifty Hunters make the list of the world's hundred richest people!" Gon cringed. Kurapika grabbed the table and rotated Leorio away from Gon.

"Hunters are associated with hunting wild game and treasure." Kurapika began. "But they are all second-rate! True Hunters work to protect people and the natural order."

Leorio went back over to Gon. "Now look here! Once you're a Hunter, most countries will give you a free pass!" Gon flinched. Kuri just sat, watching all of this with popcorn in hand. She tossed some in her mouth. "And no charge to use public facilities!"

 _Crunch, crunch._ More popcorn was eaten. "How are those benefits?" Kurapika rotated him away from Gon again. Kuri offered some popcorn to Gon.

"Popcorn?" Gon weakly took some.

"Where did you get this, Kuri-chan?" Kuri blinked.

"My pocket."

"Hunters have many difficult and important responsibilities." Kurapika interrupted their conversation.

"Can I have more popcorn, Kuri-chan?" Kuri passed him the bucket.

 _Crunch, crunch._

"Such as preserving artifacts and endangered species." Kurapika held one finger up. Kuri reached for the popcorn. "As well as capturing wanted criminals and unscrupulous Hunters."

"The fame and money." Leorio went over to Gon again. "That's why people wish to become Hunters!" Gon leaned away.

Kurapika went over to Kuri. "Profound knowledge, a healthy mind and body. And unyielding conviction! Those are the qualities on which Hunters pride themselves." Kurapika leaned in. Kuri blinked and looked at Gon, who was in a similar predicament. Kurapika and Leorio glared and growled at each other. They turned to Gon and Kuri.

"Gon! Kuri! What do you think? What Kind of Hunter do you want to become?!" Kuri blinked. Gon looked shocked.

"Well, when you put it that way..." Kuri sighed and whacked Leorio and Kurapika on the head.

"Quit it! You're scaring poor Gon!" They glared at her and were about to retort, when...

 _Ding, ding!_

"We're here!" Kuri said excitedly.

* * *

Kuri blinked. "Hi!" She received glares in response. "Jeez. Tough crowd." They glared harder. Kuri raised an eyebrow. "Do you know how to look friendly? Here's a tip. Stop glaring." She put her hands on her hips. The glares turned into surprised looks.

"Er... Kuri-chan? I don't think that now's a-"

"Take a number!" A man with a green bean for a head interrupted, holding out four round circular pins. Kuri stared at him. Gon reached out and took a pin. Leorio had 403, Kurapika; 404, and Gon had 405. Kuri looked at the man. She gave him a once over. She stopped after a few minutes and nodded in satisfaction. She took a pin and looked at it. 406.

"Thanks!" She skipped away. The bean mentally sighed in relief. She was beginning to scare him. He wiped off the sweat that had started forming.

"Hi! I'm Tonpa!" Kuri reared back in shock.

 _'A talking blob just appeared in front of me!'_

 **'Kuri, that's a person.'** Jen rolled her eyes.

 _'Woah! I can see you now!'_ Kuri's eyes widened.

 **'Yeah, I improved my Ha- I mean, magic.'** Jen smiled nervously

 _'Ha?'_ Kuri narrowed her eyes.

 **'I'm calling my magic Ha! Do you like it?'** Jen scratched her head awkwardly. Kuri crossed her arms and gave Jen a suspicious look.

 _'Okay! Why Ha, though? And that was not a person. That was a moving and talking blob.'_ Jen sighed.

 **'Because I felt like it. And that is a damn person. He might look like a stupid blob, but I assure you, _he is a damn person._ '**

 _'If you say so...'_

"Kuri-chan! This is Tonpa. He said he would help us!" Kuri looked at Gon. She looked at the blo- Tonpa. It was then that she noticed something.

"Wow, Mister! Did someone smash your nose with a box? It's a rectangle! Or did you walk into a wall so hard that your nose became a box? Or is it a birth defect? Is-" Tonpa glared at her.

"My nose is naturally like this. I did not get hit with anything and it is certainly not a birth defect." Kuri sheepishly rubbed the back her head.

"Oh. Sorry!"

 **'Kuri, do you feel that weird vibe he's giving off?'** Jen narrowed her eyes at Tonpa.

 _'Vibe? Jen, you're just paranoid.'_

 **'I'm serious...'** Kuri frowned.

 _'So am I. Tonpa seems like a nice man. Ugly, but mostly nice.'_

 **'Ha! I was right! So you do think that something is off about him!'**

 _'Just a tinge. He probably will betray us, but that's the real world.'_

 **'Yeah** , **but I'm still going to be laughing in your face when Tonpa betrays you and I'm going to scream 'I told you so.''** Kuri rolled her eyes.

 _'Alright...'_

A scream filled the air. Kuri's head snapped up and she put her hand on her hip, where her katana is. She looked to the origin and saw that it was a random man. His arms were turned into flowers and falling to the ground.

"You really should apologize when you bump into someone. I assure you, this is all real. No smoke and mirrors here." A clown-magician-jester was standing there. He had on... face paint and his red hair was slicked back and had purple mixed into it. He was wearing a loose outfit that looked like one a jester would wear, with loose pants and long sleeved shirt.

 _'Is that also magic?'_ Jen shuddered.

 **'Yeah... How twisted. Who in their right minds would do something like that?'** Kuri was silent.

"Damn. That psycho is back again," Tonpa sneered. Kuri didn't stop looking at the clown. She started walking towards him.

"Matte! Kuri-chan!" Gon reached out to stop her. Kuri ignored him. She walked straight up to number 44 and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Hi, Mr. Creepy-clown-magician-jester-person! What's your name?" He turned around with a creepy smile on his face.

"Hisoka~" Kuri grinned.

"Hi, Hisoka! I'm Kuri!" Hisoka's grin widened.

"Hi, Kuri-chan~" Kuri frowned.

"No 'chan'! Just Kuri!" The grin widened even more.

"Hai, Kuri-chan~" Kuri groaned.

"KURI... Four letters. One syllable." Hisoka's grin threatened to split his face in half.

"Hai~ Kuri-chan." Kuri rubbed her temples.

" _Kuri_." Hisoka just patted her head. The rest of the applicants watched the exchange in amazement.

"Kuri-chan." Kuri mentally sighed.

 _'I give up...'_

 **'I never knew you to give up so easily.'** Jen looked at Kuri with a smug smile.

 _'When Gon calls you it for three years, you kinda get used to it... Hisoka's the same. Except I let him call me that because I don't want to be turned into a dandelion for offending him.'_ Kuri shrugged.

"Do you need something?" Hisoka narrowed his eyes at Kuri.

 _'I can sense strong Nen from her. But it's not hers. She has potential to be even stronger.'_ He licked his lips.

"Oh! Right." Kuri took in a deep breath.

"How did you turn that man's arms into flowers? What type of flower is it? It's very pretty. Did you dye your hair? It's such a cool color! Can you do magic too? My friend can do magic! She can hold mental conversations with anyone she wants! Is that your magic? Is there more?" Kuri took a breath. Hisoka chuckled lowly. Kuri blinked.

 _'Creepy...'_

 **'I don't agree with you for a lot of things, but I cannot disagree...'** Kuri raised an eyebrow as she realized.

 _'Jen, you haven't cursed in a while. Did you quit?'_

 **'Of course I damn didn't!'** Jen glared. Kuri backed away and raised her hands in defense.

 _'Okay, okay...'_

"Himitsu~" Kuri pouted.

 _'Aww... I wanted to know...'_ A bell rang. Kuri glanced around to see that it was coming from a... green head? Yeah, a green head.

 _'Cool head...'_

 **'Ugh. More like ugly.'** Jen crinkled her nose.

* * *

 **Thank you for the reviews! I would love more, but if not, oh well. Favs, follows, thanks!**


	4. Hi Sis

**Thanks for the reviews, favs, follows, blah, blah, blah. Sorry for the late update. It's just... school. Yeah, yeah. I know it's a weak excuse, but that's all I got for now. On to the chapter!**

* * *

How long had it been? How long had it been since they began running?

Karsi was yawning and looking as the people around her fell, one by one. She was near the examiner, like right behind him. She could have sped up just a little bit more to catch up, but Karsi was feeling lazy. She sighed.

It was tiring to keep up that happy naive persona around people. She wasn't faking all the time. She could be happy and actually feel like that. Around Gon, it was real. Gon's too cute and fluffy to lie to. Kurapika and Leon were okay too... or was it Lio? Neon? Nio?

Whatever, the point is that they're not that bad. Hisoka... is really scary. She keeps up that personality so she can avoid him and avoid showing her real self.

 **'Kuri! I see light! And you kinda lost Gon like... hours ago...'** Jen looked at Karsi hesitantly as if she might explode any second.

 _'I know. I'm Karsi. Not Kuri. This was so easy and boring. I thought that I had finally found a challenge, but no... just easy childish stuff.'_ Karsi crossed her arms and huffed.

 **'What happened to you? You used to be such a happy and innocent little kid... before _that.'_** Jen scowled and glared at nothing.

 _'That? Jen, just say it. It's not as if any one can hear us. I know that m-'_ Jen held up a hand to stop her. Karsi pursed her lips and looked away.

 **'I know... It's just that I don't like remembering. Kuri, no, Karsi, thousands of people died by his hand. Millions lost their lives that day. I know that you don't like it either, even if you say you're fine.'**

 _'I am fine.'_

 **'Karsi, for heaven's sake! Kuri didn't respond to anything for years! She was were dead to the world! She didn't eat, drink, or even talk! It was like talking to a brick wall! And quit doing this to poor Kuri! You have your own body!'** Kuri cringed at Jen's tone.

 _'That was four years ago! This is now!'_

"Wait! 406!" Karsi stopped. The examiner was still climbing up the stairs as Kuri was right in front of the woods. It wasn't him that called out. It was definitely a female. Before Kuri could think about it, two blurs appeared. One black and green, the other white.

"Goal!" Gon and the unknown white-haired boy cheered.

 _'I'm gonna call him... UWHB.'_

 ** _'UWHB?'_** Jen raised an eyebrow. Kuri furrowed her eyebrows. Jen was much louder. Usually, the louder she gets, the closer she is. Kuri shrugged. She'll ignore it for now.

 _'Yup. Unidentified White-Haired Boy.'_ Kuri nodded in satisfaction. Jen sighed and turned away to hide a smile. Kuri was back, Karsi was gone, hopefully for good.

"I believe you both crossed at the same time." That was Satotz. Kuri turned her head. She started heading towards them.

"Hey Gon." She waved. Gon looked at her.

"Kuri-chan!" He ran over to her and started dragging her by the arm.

"Woah. Slow down!" They stopped in front of UWHB. He looked at her curiously.

"Who's she, Gon?" He pointed at Kuri. Gon smiled and flowers popped up.

"That's Kuri-chan! Kuri-chan, this is Killua." Kuri smiled and was about to say something when something or someone caught her eye. Her eyes widened.

"Uh... Hi! I'llberightbackbye!" And she was gone. Gon scratched his head.

"Okay, Kuri-chan... Come back soon..."

* * *

Kuri ran to where she saw _her_.

 _'It can't be her, she's dead.'_ Jen looked at Kuri in concern.

 **'Who? Who did you see, Kuri?'** Kuri bit her lip.

 _'Karsi...'_ Kuri finally located her. She was sitting at a lake and humming a familiar tune. Kuri's eyes widened. _'This tune... She always used to hum this before I went to sleep... It's got to be her!'_ Kuri stepped forward.

"Karsi? Is that you?" Said girl turned her head and smiled at Kuri.

"Hey, Kuri." Kuri's eyes watered. She ran forward and tackled her sister into a hug.

"KARSI!" Kuri was shaking as she wept into Karsi's shoulder. Karsi just smiled and stroked Kuri's hair as she held her. Kuri looked up at Karsi through red-rimmed eyes. "How did you come back to life? Father killed you, didn't he?" Karsi smiled.

"No, I survived because a dear old friend of mine had given me a potion the day before." Kuri tilted her head.

"A potion?" Karsi nodded.

"A time turning potion. I could bend time for a few seconds, but only once. So on my last dying breath, I came from the past, when Su gave me this potion and came into the future," Kuri blinked.

"Who's Su?" Karsi rolled her eyes. _'What an overly curious girl.'_

"She's a dear old friend of mine," Karsi said curtly. She stood up and brushed off the grass. Kuri did the same. Karsi started heading back.

"Let's go Kur-bear." Kuri's eye twitched.

"I thought I told you to stop calling me that!" Karsi smirked.

"Whatever you say... Kur-bear." Kuri groaned.

"Onee-san!" Karsi stopped.

"Onee-san?" Kuri nodded.

"Onee-san. You are... 18 after all." Karsi gaped.

"Fine. But at least say Nee-san."

"Hai, Nee-san!" Someone called. They stiffened. They knew that voice.

"Over here, Jen!" Kuri yelled back. Jen came out, red and huffing.

"Finally. I found you. I followed you all this way to the Hunter Exam to keep an eye on you, and what do I find? You found your supposed to be dead sister, a stupidly cute and innocent little brother, and a psycho clown! An-" Karsi held up a finger.

"Relax. Kuri didn't know you were here, right Kuri?" Kuri rubbed the back of her head sheepishly.

"Actually, I knew since the first phase." Jen and Karsi looked at her.

"WHAT?!"

"How could you sense me? I went through Zetsu and everything to hide! H-" Kuri tilted her head.

"What's Zetsu?" Jen and Karsi froze.

"It's... m-magic! Yeah, magic!" Kuri raised an eyebrow.

I thought your magic was 'Ha.'" Karsi facepalmed as Jen smiled sheepishly.

"I have more than one magic power!" Kuri gave them a disbelieving look

"Right..." Kuri shrugged it off. "Look! There's Gon!... Holy crap, it's Gon! I'm dead!" Kuri ran towards Gon and Killua.

"Baka! I can't believe you slipped up like that!" Karsi smacked her upside the head. Jen rubbed her head.

"She's got to know sometime! Why not now?" Karsi glared.

"My imouto is way too young. Even you learned it when you were 13! That was last year!" Jen rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, yeah..."

"Who's Gon?" Jen blinked.

"He's... Gon."

"I know that, but who is he?"

"A person." Karsi scowled.

"I'm not that stupid!"

"So you admit that you're stupid." That earned Jen a smack in the head.

* * *

"Sorry Gon!" Gon looked at her, surprised.

"Kuri-chan! Where were you? You shouldn't have run off into the forest!" Kuri cringed.

"But-" Gon crossed his arms.

"No 'buts!' What if you had gotten eaten by something? No one would know!"

"... You would know..." Gon sighed. Killua was off to the side watching with wide eyes. Kuri smiled at him.

"Killua, right? Nice to meet you." Killua stiffened.

"Nice to meet you too... Kuri..." Kuri beamed and tackled Killua. Not anticipating the sudden shift in weight, he fell to the ground. Kuri squeezed Killua and hopped back up.

"Sorry! It's a habit after being with Gon! Whenever I meet someone cute I have to hug them!" Kuri held out a hand to the blushing Killua.

"I'm cute?" Kuri nodded.

"Yup!" Killua's blush slowly started darkening.

"What? I'm not cute! I'm a guy!" Kuri just shrugged.

"Guys can be cute." He gaped at her.

"Wha-"

"Hi, Kuri." Kuri turned to look at the person who spoke to her.

"Oh! Leon! When did you get here?" Leorio frowned at her.

"It's Leorio! Me _and Kurapika_ were here the entire time!" Kuri blinked.

"Oh... Kurapika and I. Hi! Kurapika!" Said boy jolted and smiled back.

"Hello." It was then that Kuri noticed a very important fact.

"Leorio, why are you shirtless?"

"Err..." Said man looked away. Kurapika sighed and shook his head.

"How is it that you're tag is pinned onto your chest, Leorio? Doesn't it hurt?" Leorio blinked.

"Nah, not really." Kuri stiffened as she felt a murderous aura behind her.

"Kuri-chan..." Said girl gulped and turned her head slowly.

"H-hey, Jen..." Jen was standing there with her hands on her hips.

"Kuriana Cynthia Muto! How dare you leave me behind for them?! Your harem!" Kurapika, Killua and Leorio bristled. Gon and Kuri tilted their heads. They looked at each other.

"Gon, What's a harem?"

"I don't know, Kuri-chan." Jen opened her mouth to respond when a hand clamped over her mouth. Karsi smiled sweetly at her little sister.

"You'll learn when you get older." Kuri pouted.

"But I wanna know now!" The rest of the gang were gaping and wide eyed at the girls.

"Kuri..." Kuri looked at Kurapika.

"Hmmm?"

"How does she look exactly like you? Are you twins?" Kurapika pointed at Karsi. It was true. They both shared the same brown eyes, albeit Karsi's was colder, long brown hair with gold highlights, and slim frame.

Jen scoffed. "Jeez. For a genius like you, you are really idiotic. They're sisters. No, they are not twins, Karsi is older by... seven years." Kurapika's eye's got wider, if that was even possible.

"So she's 19?"

"No, 18." Leorio crossed his arms.

"You said that Karsi is seven years older." Leorio looked at Kuri, who was happily chatting with Gon and Killua again. "Unless... Kuri's eleven?"

Jen shrugged. "Nearly 12. And Karsi's nearly 19... So I guess you two were right." Leorio sputtered.

"B-b-but..." Jen rolled her eyes.

"Kuri's close enough. Don't tell _anyone_ about this. _Got it?"_ Leorio nodded frantically.

"Got it." Little did they know that there was a certain clown behind a tree shuffling through a deck of cards.

"Interesting... So the unripe fruit is actually still a blossom... Interesting..." He chuckled lowly to himself. Kuri's eyes darted to the tree for a second.

 _'I'm probably just being paranoid.'_

* * *

Gon went over to Jen. "Jen, are you the Jen that can do magic?" Jen nodded.

"I am."

"Was that Kuri-chan's full name?" Jen froze.

 **'Oh crap. I wasn't supposed to tell anyone her full name...'** Kuri nodded.

 _'No, you weren't.'_ Jen sighed.

 **'Damn. I'm in some deep shit now...'**

 _'Yup.'_

"Kuriana Cynthia Muto... I've heard that before..." Killua yawned, appearing out of nowhere. Jen narrowed her eyes.

"Where did you come from?"

"My mother, you hag. I thought you already knew that. But I thought old hags were supposed to be wise. I guess I was wrong." A tick mark appeared on Jen's forehead.

"I am not a old hag, you brat!" Killua frowned.

"And I'm not a brat, hag." A glaring contest began between them.

"Come on Killua." Gon tugged on his friend's sleeve. Killua didn't budge.

"Kuri-chan has chocolate." Gon tried. Killua immediately looked at Gon and cat ears and a tail appeared.

"Chocolate?" Gon nodded.

"Yup! Let's go!" They left with Jen staring at their backs in amazement. _'I_ _neve_ _r_ _kn_ _ew_ _th_ _at_ _G_ _on_ _co_ _uld_ _be_ _so devious. Let's hope that Kuri has some chocolate.'_

* * *

 **Reviews**

 **Mr. Kohen: Thank you so much! Your reviews always brighten up my day! Sorry for the late update!**

 **SlightlyYandereMelissa: Thanks! :3 Hihi**

 **MissAssassinGirl11: I'm honored. Yeah, my updates are short, but I'm trying. Maybe I'll re-edit later and combine chapters. I'm glad you like it! It doesn't look like many people do...**

 **persona3adict: Just as promised! Jen appears! You're welcome, but I should thank you as well for taking the time to review. Really? I never thought of Jen as a navigator. How is she like a navigator?**

 **Dragonbooks249: Thank you! It was up there at first, but I didn't feel that my story was that humorous, so I took it down. I added it again, because of your suggestion, though. Kuri doesn't think before she says anything, but that's how she is~** **Yeah, she probably wasn't thinking when she walked up to Hisoka... Even I don't know and I wrote the story. XD Sometimes it reels like I'm possessed by the characters and I'm the writing the story, but they are. How will she react to Killua's assassin past? Hmmm... we'll have to find out! Killua and Jen probably don't get along because of how alike they are, but maybe they'll get better...**


	5. Phase 2! Cooking!

**Hello, guys! Nice to see y'all again! Now, the song in this chapter is mine! Please don't copy it!**

* * *

 _'Why am I in this damn mess again? Oh yeah, because of Kuri. I got attached and look where it's gotten me. I'm running from mutant carnivorous pigs.'_ Jen sighed as she jumped onto a low branch of a nearby tree.

 _ **Bang!**_ And that was the pig crashing into the tree. It squealed and stumbled back. It soon got over it's pain and charged again. And again. And again. Jen sighed and looked down in boredom. She broke off a twig and threw it as hard as she could at the pig. _Whack!_ It hit its forehead. The ugly thing gave one final squeal and fell back, dead. Jen blinked in surprise.

 _'It's dead...'_ Jen cautiously jumped down and prodded it with her foot. It didn't budge.

"HIT THE FOREHEAD!" Jen jolted and blinked.

 _'It's the forehead? Oh... It's DAMN WEAKNESS IS THE FOREHEAD?! WHY DIDN'T THEY TELL US BEFORE?!'_ Jen huffed in anger and started dragging the pig back to the site. She finally got there, all sweaty and huffing and puffing, and guess who she found sitting there calmly gutting her pig. Kuri. Jen groaned as she realized something.

 _'It's a damn cooking exam! I wonder if turning in a raw pig would count?'_ Jen looked back at Kuri. _'Kuri's definitely gonna pass. Me?... Let's just hope something doesn't explode.'_

* * *

Kuri hummed to herself as she minced some herbs she found in the forest. _'Rosemary goes there, lemonbalm there, basil there...'_ Kuri soon found herself singing softly.

 _"If I could change my life_

 _Turn it all to dust_

 _Would it be like metal_

 _Slowly becoming rust_

 _Would anyone notice if I just disappear_

 _Would anyone know_

 _I was even here?"_

Kuri looked around for oil and found none. She frowned and noticed all the applicants roasting their pigs on a spit. _'They're not gonna pass.'_ Kuri chuckled to herself. There was a big boom. Kuri smiled. _'Oh, Jen...'_

 _"Would I even do it_

 _Take that chance to fly_

 _What difference would it make_

 _If I changed my life?"_

Kuri thought to herself. _'What can I use instead of vegetable oil?'_ Kuri saw a stick of butter. _'Ah! Butter!'_ Kuri cut a few slices and melted them on the flat rock that she was using instead of a frying pan. Kuri had cleaned the rock and she laid the pig's skin on the rock just in case. The sound of sizzling filled the air.

 _"Can you even do it_

 _Turn your life around."_

Kuri flipped the slab of meat over. _'Ah... perfectly brown and crispy.'_

 _"Turn it back to normal_

 _When it was upside down._

Kuri grimaced at that line.

 ** _Flashback_**

 ** _Kuri, age 5_**

 ** _"You ungrateful little wench! I gave you food, shelter, clothes, and you still disobey me!" A man was there, kicking a little girl._**

 ** _"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!" The little girl curled into a fetal position._**

 ** _"Shut up you monster! You were a mistake! I never should have had you! If only that whore, Syra had killed you." His voice got quieter. "She should have aborted you!" He started yelling again. The girl got up and ran as far away from the man as possible._**

 ** _"It's not my fault I was born! I didn't choose to be born! I didn't force you to drink that smelly stuff!" The man snarled._**

 ** _"But it's your fault that Syra's DEAD!"_**

 ** _End flashback_**

 _"Put your thoughts in order_

 _Spread your wings and fly_

 _If you can believe it_

 _You can change your life_

 _Turn around and smile_

 _Take all your fears away_

 _Lock them in big cage_

 _They are there to stay."_

 ** _Flashback_**

 ** _Kuri, age 7_**

 ** _"Hi!" There was an older black haired girl in front of her. "I'm Jen! What's your name?" She held out a hand. The little girl hesitantly took it._**

 ** _"Kuri..." Jen smiled._**

 ** _"Nice to meet you, Kuri!" Kuri offered a weak smile back._**

 ** _"You too..."_**

 ** _End flashback_**

Kuri gathered some big leaves and put them on the counter.

 _"Your life may not be perfect_

 _It may have rips and flaws_

 _But mend those imperfections_

 _Take down all your walls_

 _So what if life's not perfect_

 _What if you need glue_

 _To stick yourslf together_

 _When you're split in two_

 _So go and take that chance now_

 _Leave it all behind_

 _Don't look back and regret_

 _The times that you were blind_

 ** _Flashback_**

 ** _Kuri, age 6_**

 ** _'I'm gonna do it! I'll get away from this prison!' Kuri was shoving things in a duffel bag. 'Clothes, toothbrush, food... I need food!' Kuri looked around. 'No one's awake...' She quietly crept down the stairs. She graabbed some bread and a slice of cheese and ran back up to her room. Kuri shoved them in the bag and opened the window. She threw the bag down and after one last check, jumped down herself. 'I'm free!'_**

 ** _End flashback_**

 _Put it all on paper_

 _Keep it close to you_

 _Remember when you broke_

 _And didn't have any glue_

 _Be thankful you are here now_

 _Thankful you survived_

 _And lend someone a hand_

 ** _Flashback_**

 ** _Kuri, age 8_**

 ** _"Kuri? Is that you?" Kuri looked up._**

 ** _"J-Jen?" The older girl smiled._**

 ** _"It is you. Nice to see you again." Kuri teared up._**

 ** _"JEN!"_**

 ** _End flashback_**

 _Heal them, fix their life_

 _And when you've fallen_

 _Back into that hole_

 _Don't forget the good times_

 _That rid you of your cold_

 _If you need a hand now_

 _I will help you up_

 _Save you when you've sunk_

 _I hope to see you soon_

 _With no tears in sight_

 _If you're in a battle, fight with all your might_

 _I guess this is goodbye_

 _I will see you soon_

 _And know I'm always here_

 _Watching over you_

 _I wouldn't change my life_

 _Wouldn't start it over_

 _I'm fine with what I have_

 _There's no do-overs_

 _If you hear this song_

 _Remember how it felt_

 _To know that someone's there_

 _To help you when you fall_

 _So get back up and cheer up_

 _Remember I am here_

 _And I will rid the darkness_

 _Light will soon be here."_

Kuri smiled as she took the last piece of meat off the rock. She wrapped most of it in the big leaves and put five pieces on a plate. She took the plate to Menchi. Menchi smiled at the girl. She reached out for the plate when #225 jumped in front of Kuri.

"Here's my plate." He handed it to Menchi. Mechi frowned.

"That girl was here first!" Todo shrugged.

"First come, first serve. I handed mine in first." Menchi growled.

"I'm not eating it! She was here first!" They started arguing and Kuri turned to Buhara. Kuri held the plate out for him. Buhara reached down and took one slice. His eyes widened.

"Menchi! This is really good! The best one so far!" Menchi stopped arguing and took a piece as well. She neatly cut a chunk of it and bit it. She smiled.

"You pass! You definitely pass!" #225 growled.

"Why is she the only one that passes?" Menchi cooly raised an eyebrow.

The Phrase isn't over yet. You still have a chance." Kuri went back to her station, not wanting to get caught up in all the commotion. Kuri grabbed the package of leaves and went to Gon and the others.

"Hey Kuri-chan!" Gon waved. Kuri grinned.

"Hey!" She held up the bundle of leaves. "Wanna taste?" Soneone tapped her on the shoulder. Kuri turned her head to look at the person and saw Jen.

"You promised to make me something, didn't you?" Kuri shrugged.

"I said I would when I got back. You can have one if you want." Kuri undid the package and handed one slice to everyone.

"Itadakimasu!" They chorused and bit in.

"Woah..." Killua looked at the meat in amazement. Kuri yawned and leaned back.

"Is it good?" Killua's head moved so quickly Kuri wondered how it didn't fall off.

"Almost as good as chocolate!" Kuri sweatdropped.

 _'That boy and his chocolate...'_

"It's as good as ever, Kuri-chan!" Kuri looked at Gon.

"Thanks!" Gon tensed up. Kuri looked at him curiously.

"Wha-" Someone tapped her again.

"Ye- Hisoka!" Kuri jumped, startled. The clown was there, smiling in his creepy way. "Can I do something for you?" Kuri raised an eyebrow.

"Can I have a piece~?" Kuri shrugged. That was all he wanted?

"Sure." She handed him a piece. He walked away. Kuri blinked. "Whatever." Someone cleared their throat. Kuri turned.

"What can I do for you?" There was a blond girl there.

"So, you passed too?" Kuri nodded.

"Yup! Did you?" The blond nodded. She held out her hand.

"I'm Teri. Wanna try each other's dishes?" Kuri shrugged.

"Sure."

 **Thanks for all the support, you guys! Hope you like this update, it's a little short, so sorry! Do you like the song? I made it off the top of my head.**

 **Reviews**

 **Dragonbooks249: Thank you! It's not clear who's speaking? I thought it was pretty clear, but I'll try... Yeah, I thought it wasn't humorous, it actually was only going to be humor at first, but my friend convinced me otherwise. Thanks!**


	6. Spider Eagles!

**Sorry I'm so late! Okay, to be honest, I have way too much stress on me right now with school, SAT's in seventh grade, I'm dying!**

 **Dragonbooks249: Thanks for reviewing once again~**

 **I'm glad you like the song. Yay~ Friends~**

 **DeadlyPinkFluffyUnicorns: Thanks!**

 **Guest: Thank you! I'm glad you like it.**

* * *

"There was this one time when Jen decided to cook and actually made something without exploding the kitchen. She told me to try it and... the 'food' attacked me." Kuri chuckled. Teri grinned.

"Wow, you and Jen seem to be good friends!" Kuri nodded. Over the short time Kuri and Teri had spent together, they had become great friends. "Your dish is seasoned to perfection! How did you do it?" Kuri just put a finger to her lips.

"Family secret." Teri groaned.

"Come on, Kuri!" Kuri just grinned and shook her head.

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"Pretty please?"

"No."

"Pretty please with whipped cream on top?"

"No."

"Pretty please with ice cream, sprinkles, cherries, chocolate chips, chocolate syrup, caramel, strawberries, cookies, vanilla wafers, gummy bears," 3 hours later... "honey, and frosting on top?" Kuri groaned.

"Where do you come up with these?" Teri shrugged.

"I have a major sweet tooth." Kuri smiled wryly.

"I can see that."

* * *

"The phase is over! Only two have passed!" Menchi stood on the counter, with her hands on her hips.

"WHAT? HOW!" The fat one... #225, bellowed.

"They were the only ones that took this phase seriously." Kuri looked back at Teri.

"We should probably leave..." She nodded and the two slowly inched away from the arguing duo.

"Yeah..."

 _ **Bang!**_

#225 went flying past them. He crashed. Kuri and Teri winced.

"Ouch... That probably hurt." Teri rolled her eyes

"His fault for pissing off the examiners." Kuri nodded in agreement.

"Can't argue with that."

"Hohohoho!" An airship flew above them and something dropped to the ground with a big bang.

"The hell?" Kuri elbowed Teri lightly. Everyone but the examiners started whispering to one another.

"Wh-who's that geezer?" Menchi started walking forward.

"The Chairman of the Selection Committee. He's in charge of the Hunter Exam... Chairman Netero."

"Well, I work behind the scenes. I only take action when there's an issue, like now. So, Menchi-kun..." Kuri yawned.

"What's the issue?" She asked, completely ignoring the tension in the air. The Chairman briefly glanced at her. Teri facepalmed and clamped a hand over Kuri's mouth.

"Shut up, idiot! Can't you feel the tension?" Teri hissed. Kuri shrugged. She slipped out of Teri's grip and walked up to the Chairman.

"Hi, Mister... Netro! Or is it Netto? Or Nero? Oh! It's Neko!" Silence. Everyone stared at the dense girl. Then, the tension slowly eased. Netero looked at the small girl in front of him.

"Hai, my name is Neko." Everyone did an anime fall.

"C-C-Chairman! Why are you playing along like this?" Menchi's jaw dropped. Kuri tilted her head.

"Where's your ears and tail, Neko-san?" Jen went forward and slapped Kuri upside the head.

"Baka! It's Netero and show more respect!" Netero laughed.

"Hohohoho! It seems we have an amusing bunch this year!" He turned back to Menchi. "Menchi-kun." The thing... man that dropped from the sky addressed the examiner.

"Yes, sir?"

"You failed all of the applicants because you disapproved of their reluctance to try new things?" His gaze dropped to Menchi's chest. Menchi didn't seem to notice.

"No, sir. I failed _most_ of the applicants because I lost my cool when one of the candidates insulted Gourmet Hunters and I made the exam harder than necessary." Netero raised his eyebrow at one word in the sentence.

"Then, you're aware that this exam was unacceptable." Menchi lowered her head in shame.

"Yes, sir. When cooking is involved, I lose control. I'm unqualified to be an examiner. I will resign as examiner, so please redo the Second Phase!"

"But it would be difficult to find another examiner on such short notice." Netero stroked his beard.

"I apologize."

"Very well. How about this?" Netero held up one finger. "I would like you to keep serving as examiner, but you must also participate in the new test you propose." Menchi's eyes widened. "Is that acceptable? I'm certain that it will help the applicants to accept the results." Menchi smiled to herself.

"That's true. Then the new challenge will be... boiled eggs!" There were murmurs in the crowd.

"Boiled eggs?"

"Chairman, can you take us to Mt. Split-in-Half in your airship?" Menchi pointed at the hovering airship.

"Mt. Split-in-Half? I see what you're doing. Certainly, I can."

* * *

They were all gathered at the ravine.

"Oh, that's why it's called Mt. Split-in-Half..." Teri muttered. Kuri was bouncing around her.

"Lookie! A ravine! Let's jump down! What are the lines down there? Whee-" Jen grabbed Kuri by the collar before she could jump.

"Idiot. Are you trying to kill yourself?" Kuri just smiled.

"It looks fun, Jen! Let's jump together!" Jen sighed in irritation.

"Kuri-chan, you shouldn't jump!" Gon came up to the girl. Menchi smirked. She also went up to the ravine. Examinees followed.

"Now, everyone... Look down there."

"Wh-What is that?" Menchi grinned in triumph.

"A Spider Eagle's web." Kuri perked up.

"Spider Eagle? Their eggs are really good!" Menchi raised an eyebrow.

"Really? How did you get them?" Kuri rubbed the back of her head sheepishly.

"I got lost one night here and it was really dark. I didn't see where I was going and... I fell. Into a very deep crack. This same crack, actually! And out of reflex, I grabbed one of the eggs and it broke off. Then, a wind came and I went flying back up! It was really fun!" Menchi blinked. And blinked.

"Look below the web!" Menchi sighed and changed the subject. She pointed and they could see bundles of... eggs.

"Those are..." Gon came to a realization.

"Those are Spider Eagle eggs."

"Spider Eagles build their webs in deep ravines, to protect their eggs from predators. This makes their eggs one of the most difficult ingredients to obtain. The eggs are also known as dream eggs." Netero helped in the lecture.

"W-wait a minute... You don't mean we..."

"I sure do." Menchi smirked at #225.

"What?!" Menchi jumped down and grabbed hold of one of the webs. The examinees looked shocked. Menchi just hung there for a few seconds.

"Even if she can grab some eggs, how will she climb back up?" Leorio looked flabbergasted. Kuri grinned.

"You'll find out." Menchi let go. She fell. She grabbed one of the eggs and continued falling.

"Hey... She jumped down!" Leorio put a hand to his head in shock. "Is she trying to kill herself?"

"No, she's not." Kurapika answered him.

"Huh?" They stared in tense silence where Menchi had fallen. A strong wind blew up towards them. With that strong wind, came Menchi. With the egg. Gon made a noise of awe.

"That looks fun..." Killua looked at the floating Menchi.

"This ravine has updrafts that help the hatched chicks fly up to the web." Menchi landed back on the ground.

"There. Now I just need to boil the egg." #225, Kuri found out his name was actually Todo, stumbled back.

"Y-you must be joking. No reasonable person would jump down there..."

"I've been waiting for this!" Todo turned to see Gon, Killua, Leorio, and Kurapika jumping into the ravine.

"Okay! Count me in!" The bald ninja with eyelashes on his eyebrows followed along with several others. Kuri and Teri exchanged looks.

"Wanna do it? We already passed." Kuri nodded.

"Yeah! Count me in!"

"Wait, you two!" Jen tried to stop them. Too late.

"Those idiots," Jen grumbled as she jumped in after them.

"I haven't finished explaining everything!" Menchi was ignored. Kuri and Teri fell. They both fell, but the difference is that Teri actually bothered to grab the web. Kuri just continued falling.

"Baka! What are you doing?" Teri cried in alarm.

"Kuri-chan!"

Kuri reached out and grabbed the bundle of eggs. She swung forward, and using her momentum, flipped to the top of the bunch of eggs. She grabbed a few and broke off a small part of the web. She tied them together, swung it over her shoulder and jumped up. She grabbed the part of the web the eggs were hanging on and climbed. She sat on the web.

"Oi! Baka! Over here!" Kuri grinned and waved at Jen.

"Hi, Jen! Look! It worked! I told you so!" Teri looked at Jen.

"What?"

"I'll explain later..."

One of the applicants smirked. "I like that way. Catch you later." Leorio grinned.

"Let's go!"

"Not yet." Leorio looked at Gon increduously.

"Why not?" Killua answered.

"There's no wind. There isn't always an updraft. Plus, if you're talking about Kuri's way, you don't have the skill. Kuri must have been trained a lot to be able to that so easily." As if on cue, an applicant started screaming in terror.

"When's the next one?" Leorio demanded imaptiently.

"Wait." Gon looked determined. He closed his eyes and breathed in. His nose twitched. The web started snapping.

"Gah! What?" Leorio dropped a few inches.

"This web won't hold us all!" Kurapika looked up in alarm. Teri rolled her eyes.

"Thanks, Captain Obvious!" Teri groaned, her arms straining. Killua stayed completely calm.

"Gon, not yet?" Gon still had his eyes closed. The web fell even more.

"Damn! I can't wait for an updraft!" A few stupid people let go. Kuri waved to them as they fell.

"Bye~" They screamed. The web started losing its grip on the wall.

"It's gonna snap!" Leorio yelped, panicking. Gon finally opened his eyes.

"NOW!" Most of the applicants let go at Gon's yell. Kuri also jumped down from her seat on the eggs. They flew back up. Menchi grinned at them and turned to the people who hadn't jumped.

"And the rest of you?" No one answered. "I guess you quit."

"It takes courage to concede too," Netero wisely remarked.

"Yeah! And Todo-san! I have a few extra eggs! Would you like one?" Kuri held up her eggs. Todo nodded and took one.


	7. Majority Sucks

**HOLY FREAKING COW! I AM SO SORRY! Ugh! I have no excuse for this, other than the fact that testing and projects and school... Sorry! I'll try harder.**

 ******Sorry for any typos and such. I've tried my hardest to fix them, but :P**

 **I don't know any betas so I don't know if I want to have one...**

 **This goes for other previous chapters too! If you would like to beta, please PM me~ ^.^'******

 **Review**

 **JokeLover123:**

 **Silver: Kuri says-**

 **Kuri: Let me take over!**

 **Silver: *backs off*** **Okay, okay! Jeez.**

 **Kuri: *clears throat.*** **Thank you, Joker-san! As for my Nen type, you'll have to guess~**

 **Okay! I'm done now! Silver, you can talk again!**

 **Silver: *rolls eyes*** ** _Thanks,_ Kuri _._**

 **Kuri: You're welcome!**

 **Silver: *sighs and shakes head* Anyway, I've tried to update as soon as possible just for you!**

 **Kuri and Silver: Thanks for reviewing!**

* * *

"Ooh! Look! What's that? Cool!" Kuri ran around the room, looking out the window. Everyone was gathered one room on the airship.

"Hey, Neko-san!" Kuri waved at Netero. Netero turned to her and smiled back.

"Hai?"

Karsi sighed. "Netero. Say it with me. Ne-te-ro." Kuri blinked.

"Neko."

"Netero."

"Neko."

"Netero." Karsi glared at Kuri.

"It's Neko! It's much cuter and shorter!"

"Baka... Ne-te-ro. 3 syllables! IT'S NOT THAT HARD!" Kuri stubbornly turned her head.

"Hmph. It's Neko." Karsi pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. Stupid little sisters.

"You know what? I'm done. I don't care. Do whatever you want." She stalked off, steam coming out of her ears. Kuri looked after her innocently and waved, holding back a smile.

"Bye!" Jen and Teri facepalmed. They weren't surprised. Kuri usually did this to annoy someone. And, points to her for it actually working every time. The other applicants were as far away from the trio as possible. All but Gon and the gang, Hisoka, Illumi, and Netero. Netero cleared his throat.

"Now. Since that's over, we can continue. We are about to land. There, the next phase shall be explained."

* * *

"Uwah~ So this is Trick Tower~ How high up is it? Can we jump down? Will we survive? I wonder what'll happen if I-" Kuri was leaning dangerously close to the edge. Teri pulled Kuri. She chuckled nervously and made sure Kuri couldn't get out of her grip, slowly going as far away as possible from the edges.

"Well, since you don't know for sure, it's best not to try it."

"B-b-b-but!" Kuri struggled in Teri's hold to get back to the edge before noticing something.

"Where's Gon?" Kuri broke through Teri's hold and looked around frantically, calling Gon's name. Teri followed, also looking for the innocent boy.

"Gon! Gon! Where are you?" Then, Kuri accidentally stepped on a loose trapdoor. She fell through, landing very painfully on her back. "Ow!" Kuri yelped, rubbing her back. She looked around. The room was a little dark, with a few torches as the only source of light.

"Kuri?" Said girl heard Teri calling her name and yelled back.

"I'm fine! See you at the bottom!"

"Hi, Kuri-chan!" Kuri looked up to see Gon. She grinned in relief.

"Gon!" Kuri hopped up and hugged him. She the turned to the others. "Where are we?"

Kurapika stepped forward. "We seem to be in one of the paths to lead to the bottom."

"Yeah! We were waiting for another person to fall! Thank god you came down here!" Kuri's eyebrow twitched. She flicked Leorio on the nose. He yelped and glared at her, holding his nose.

"Don't use the Lord's name in vain!" Gon handed her a wristwatch.

"Here you go, Kuri-chan! Put that on!" Kuri took the watch and examined it. Finding nothing wrong with it, she shrugged and put it on. A door opened.

"Let's go!"

* * *

"Open!" 5 O's and one X appeared.

"Hey! Who pressed the X?" Kuri raised her hand cheerfully.

"I did!" Leorio looked at her incredulously.

"Why?"

"Because I wanted to!" Leorio blinked.

"You're not supposed to press X."

"Why?"

"Because the directions say so."

"The directions don't say that!"

"Yes they do! O to open the door and X to keep it closed!" Kuri blinked.

"So?" Leorio had a tick mark on his forehead.

"So, you don't press X!" Kuri tilted her head.

"Why? You deliberately pressed the wrong button, ARE YOU TRYING TO SABOTAGE US?!"

"Because." Gon chuckled nervously.

"Maa, maa... let's go, we can't waste time..."

Kuri nodded. She skipped off, humming to herself happily. "Let's go~"

Leorio grumbled under his breath, fuming as he followed. "Stupid brat. 'Why,' she says. Hmph."

* * *

"Right or left?" Leorio read. He looked around each of the directions, examining each closely.

"Press O for right and X for left." Kuri stroked the imaginary beard on her face and then grinned. They pressed the buttons and Leorio yelled in shock.

"Why would you choose to go right? Normally you go left!" His mouth was wide open, eyes blinking rapidly in shock.

"That is true," Kurapika admitted. "Studies have indicated that people who are lost or stuck at forks unconsciously tend to go left." Killua also held up a finger.

"I've heard of that before, too." Leorio snapped out of shock and glared.

"Wait! The numbers don't add up! Which button did you press?" He pointed at them. Killua and Kurapika simply walked forward. They answered one after the other.

"Right."

"Right."

"Y-you guys..." Kuri grinned at Leorio. Leorio warily stared back. He knew her little tricks and acts.

"Why did you choose to go right?" He grumbled, sighing. Kuri just laughed.

"Because I'm right handed!" Leorio gaped at her.

"... What?" He couldn't believe it. This girl had chosen to go right because she was _right handed?!_

"Yup." Leorio groaned.

 _'I am stuck with a bunch of idiots._ ' He thought. He looked at Gon, who was the only one left and stomped off.

"SO WE'RE JUST SIMPLE MINDED!" Gon just followed the ranting man.

"We?" He asked. They walked a little more before they came to a dead end. A cliff, to be exact. Kuri, not noticing the others had stopped, kept walking, until Leorio grabbed her collar.

"Baka! Are you trying to get yourself killed?" Kuri looked at him with unblinking eyes.

"Everyone dies someday. Whether I die now or later is completely irrelevant to the story. After all, it will still go on with you four." Leorio inhaled sharply in shock. That was surprisingly deep for her.

"B-b-brat... I didn't know you thought like-"

"Well, of course, you will die first, being the old man you are," Kuri taunted, dancing out of his grip. Leorio glared at her, all signs of pity gone.

"You little-" He pushed the thought of what she said to the back of his mind. He ignored the small part that pricked and prodded at him about that.

"Hehe~" Kuri laughed, distancing herself from the group. Her eyes flashed black for a moment and when she blinked, it was gone.

"Look over there," Killua said, looking at the other side. The room had a platform in the middle, along with another dead end at the other side. There were four cloaked people standing there. A voice came from one of them.

"The applicants have arrived. Remove the shackles." Only his shackles fell off, hitting the floor with loud clangs. Kuri raised an eyebrow. Only four people were visible. There were five of them...

"Jeez." The same one spoke. He rubbed his wrists, hands coming up to remove his hood. "I'm finally free." He walked forward into the light so they could see his features clearly. His head was scarred, badly. He was heavily muscled and his eyes had a dangerous gleam to them, lips curled into a smug smirk. Leorio gulped at the sight of him. Kuri blinked.

"Hey mister. You're bald. Are you that old?" The four people next to her fell over in shock.

"Kuri-chan..." Gon sweatdropped. The man on the other side chuckled darkly.

"You'll pay for that comment, brat. You'll be first." Kuri crossed her arms.

"First in what?"

"Allow me to explain, gentlemen... and ladies. Before you are some of Trick Tower's prisoners." The voice came from the speakers, this time.

"Prisoners?" Kurapika asked, looking at the bald man. Kuri opened her mouth.

"Oh! That's where I've seen you before, old man!" Heads snapped towards Kuri in shock.

"You've seen him before?" Leorio yelped, looking at her with wide eyes. Kuri nodded.

"He was in the news~ Something about robbery and murder..." The man's smirk grew wider.

"You're right, brat. 199 years in prison." Kuri whistled.

"Wow. You must have stolen and killed very important things." The prisoner nodded. He opened his mouth to state what they were, when the voice in the speakers interrupted.

"Ahem. The Hunter Exam Committee has also officially hired them as examiners." Kuri scratched her head.

"Prisoners as examiners? Wow. You guys aren't the brightest, huh." Lippo went on, ignoring her comment.

"You will be fighting against the five of them." Kuri looked at them with raised brows.

"Oh, there's the last one!" There was one final person, sitting in the back, covered by the others.

"The fights will be one on one. Each person may only fight once. You're free to use any method you like." Behind the scenes, Lippo smirked, cookie in hand and glasses glinting maliciously. "There will be no draws. A win is declared when the opponent admits defeat."

"You may pick your order," The prisoner said. "It's a majority rule. So, secure three wins, and you may pass. The rules are simple." Leorio grimace.

"Majority rule _again?_ " Kuri shrugged.

"This path _is_ called majority rule." Killua smirked.

"Well, I prefer straightforward rules." Lippo smirked.

"However, the actual fights will not be quite so simple. The prisoners' sentences will be reduced by a year for every hour they delay you. In other words, their goal is also to buy time."

"I understand," Kurapika said. "And we must reach the goal within seventy-two hours. So time will be critical during these fights." The prisoner held up a hand.

"Okay, I'm up first. This time I will choose. The girl's going first." Kuri smiled.

"Wh-what? That's cheating! You can't do that!" Leorio sputtered. Kuri waved him off.

"Eh. I can do it. We have no choice after all." A bridge came out from each cliff, connecting with the middle. Kuri walked across, stopping as she reached the middle of the platform, the other doing the same.

"Will that brat be okay?" Leorio asked, staring after Kuri. Killua nodded and sat down, Gon following his example.

"I think we should believe in Kuri-chan!" He grinned, only his eyes showing his worry.

"That's all we can do." Kurapika sat down, Leorio was the only one still standing.

"Now, let us determine the method of combat. I propose a death match." Kuri stiffened.

"A death match?" Gon echoed.

"They fight until one dies?" Leorio whispered, half in shock.

"No..." Kurapika said. "Don't let him provoke you!"

"Well?" Bendot asked. Kuri shook her head.

"How about... just a normal, if one gets knocked off the platform, the other wins?" Kuri grinned. Bendot smirked.

"Fine. You die if you fall, anyway." He rushed forward, fist out, ready to hit. Kuri grabbed his fist and used it to propel herself over him. Never letting go of his fist, the momentum and her weight combined, made him fall backwards, landing flat on his back. Kuri hopped out of reach, moving until her heels hung just over the edge, as he shot back up and charged at her again. Kuri stayed still this time, just standing there as he grew closer and closer.

"Hey! Brat! Get out of the way!" Kuri ignored Leorio's yelling and narrowed her eyes. Her eyes flashed purple before she jumped, avoiding her throat getting crushed, but getting hit in the stomach instead. There was a sickening crack as her ribs snapped under his fist.

Gon and the others flinched at the noise.

When she fell off the platform, she grabbed his fist, bringing him down to his knees.

The people at each side tensed as they witnessed Kuri dangling over the edge, only held up by Bendot's fist.

He used his other hand to grab her neck, bringing her up. Kuri grimaced as she lost her ability to breathe. She kicked his stomach with all her strength, which wasn't much at that moment, only to have him chuckle.

"So, do you surrender," he asked mockingly. Kuri's vision slowly started blackening at the edges as her body began to fail. Her arms fell to her sides as she closed her eyes. Bendot smirked and released her, only to have her eyes snap back open and grab his shoulder. She twisted herself so she landed on the platform and Bendot was the one hanging off the edge. His weight was too much for her as she let go of him, collapsing on the platform. Bendot's eyes widened as he fell, screaming. Kuri slowly got up shakily to her feet, coughing out a bit of blood.

"I... win..." She rasped, limping back to her side.

* * *

 **Well, that wasn't dark at all! Hehe... Whoops. Oh well, I apologize for the delay... Um... hope you enjoyed this bad chapter...**


End file.
